Principles of Social Research Methodology 9811952191, 9789811952197

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M. Rezaul Islam Niaz Ahmed Khan Rajendra Baikady   Editors

Principles of Social Research Methodology

Principles of Social Research Methodology

M. Rezaul Islam · Niaz Ahmed Khan · Rajendra Baikady Editors

Principles of Social Research Methodology

Editors M. Rezaul Islam Centre for Family and Child Studies Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Sharjah Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Niaz Ahmed Khan Department of Development Studies University of Dhaka Dhaka, Bangladesh

Rajendra Baikady Department of Social Work School of Humanities University of Johannesburg Johannesburg, South Africa

ISBN 978-981-19-5219-7 ISBN 978-981-19-5441-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Dedicated to (Late) M. A. Momen and (late) Bashira Mannan Former Professors, Institute of Social Welfare and Research, University of Dhaka

Foreword

I welcome the publication of this edited book: Principles of Social Research Methodology which is a very useful tool for the academics, teachers, and students for whom it has been compiled. They are all engaged in the study and practice of social scientific inquiry to provide evidence-based accounts and analysis of the problems facing societies throughout the developing world. This is a fundamentally important task, especially in the contexts of globalization and aggravated climate change and given the persistence of massive economic and social inequalities. It is a continuing endeavour, given the reality that circumstances do not remain static. If it is to be accomplished, those who undertake it must equip themselves with an understanding of the basic tenets of the philosophy and methods of social science and with the skills and competencies necessary for their use in practice. The book provides such a comprehensive grounding in theory and its application. In thirty-five chapters organized in seven parts, it guides the reader through the essential topics of social research inquiry and in a clear and readable style. I personally congratulate one of the editors Prof. M. Rezaul Islam, himself a diligent and successful social researcher, on accomplishing this very important task. As his doctoral research supervisor, I am also very proud of his achievement. I wish this book the considerable readership it deserves. Professor W. J. Morgan D.Sc. (h.c.), FRSA, FRAI, FLSW, FRHS Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow Cardiff University Wales, UK

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This book covers almost all the areas of social science research methodologies. The research methodology is one of the most significant courses in all disciplines including social sciences at undergraduate, master’s, and Ph.D. levels. In addition, writing a research proposal is a requirement of every research student, particularly for master’s, M.Phil., and Ph.D. students. In many cases, the undergraduate and master’s (taught) students have to take some courses, or in some cases, they have to do a group/individual practice research, where research methodology is a compulsory part of their syllabus. This edited book will fulfil all of these requirements. Currently, the importance of research is getting more priority, particularly to the programmers, policymakers, and development practitioners. They cannot think to initiate any event without scientific investigation. On the other hand, the importance of research methodology course has been signified tremendously over the years in most academic institutions. The book includes seven parts and 35 chapters. Part I: ‘Introduction to Social Research’ includes four chapters (Chaps. 1–4) that discuss the theoretical aspects with the examples of social research methodologies. In Chap. 1 entitled ‘Inquiry: A Fundamental Concept for Scientific Investigation’, M. Rezaul Islam discusses different aspects of ‘inquiry’. He shows the ways of the process of inquiry. Islam notes that this is important to know the term inquiry before learning social research methodology as it is the starting point to consider social research as a scientific inquiry. In Chap. 2: ‘Research: Meaning and Purpose’, Kazi Abusaleh and Akib Bin Anwar write the conceptual framework of research and research process drawing the importance of research in social sciences. The chapter defines ‘research’ as a deliberate and systematic scientific investigation into a phenomenon to explore, analyse, and predict about the issues or circumstances and characterized ‘research’ as a systematic and scientific mode of enquiry, a way to testify the existing knowledge and theories, and a well-designed process to answer questions in a reliable and unbiased way. In Chap. 3 entitled ‘Social Research: Definitions, Types, Nature, and Characteristics’, Kanamik Kani Khan and Md. Mohsin Reza highlight some basic aspects such as definition, types, nature, and characteristics of social research. They say that social research is a set of activities that allows a social scientist to investigate ix

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human and social behaviour or a social problem. It is often defined as a study of mankind that helps to identify the relations between social life and social systems. In the last chapter of this part entitled ‘Theory in Social Research’, Mumtaz Ali, Maya Khemlani David, and Kuang Ching Hei show the importance and link between social research and theory. Here, social research is taken as the sociological understanding of connections—connections among action, experience, and change—and it is the major vehicle for realizing these connections. The authors mention that debate on using theory in any scope of social research is being deliberated by various scholars with many emphasizing the merits of using theory in social research. They argue that an appropriate theory clarifies the findings a researcher has uncovered in the study. This chapter elaborates on the various aspects of using theory in social research. Part II: ‘Philosophy of Social Science and Research Paradigms’ includes five chapters (5–9). In Chap. 5 entitled ‘Inductive and/or Deductive Research Designs’, Md. Shahidul Haque attempts to introduce the readers of the undergraduate and master’s students in Bangladesh to some fundamental considerations of inductive and deductive research designs. The deductive approach is known as testing a theory, in which the researcher develops a theory or hypotheses and designs a research strategy to test the formulated theory. On the other hand, the inductive approach is known as building a theory, in which the researcher starts with collecting data in an attempt to develop a theory. In the beginning, a researcher should explain clearly which approach is being followed in his or her research work. This paper discusses basic concepts, characteristics, steps, and examples of inductive and deductive research designs. Here, also a comparison between inductive and deductive research designs is shown. It concludes with a look at how both inductive and deductive designs can be used collaboratively to form a more complete picture of a research study. In Chap. 6, author Premalatha Karupiah writes the ‘Positivism’, a paradigm that dominates both the natural and social sciences. The ontology of positivism is called realism where reality is seen as consisting of discrete events that can be experienced only by the human senses. Positivism uses dualist and objectivist epistemology. This means that the researcher and the observed reality are independent of each other, and the quest for knowledge must be value-free and objective. Positivism mostly uses an experimental methodology as a way to gather information regarding the event which is being studied. Ashek Mahmud and Farhana Zaman have written Chap. 7: ‘Critical Theory in Social Research: A Theoretical and Methodological Outlook’. The authors argued that critical theory, a multidisciplinary and multifaceted approach, puts forward to reconstruct dominant ideology by the critical task of explaining and criticizing. This chapter aims at revealing the contribution of critical theory to the development of social thought and its application in social research. Thereby, critical theory provides insight to form ‘critical paradigm’ and ‘critical realist paradigm’ that generate ‘ideology critique’, ‘critical action research’, and ‘critical discourse analysis’ (CDA) as the dynamic research methods by which researchers can explain the relationship among language, ideology, and practical social actions. Finally, the chapter attempts to ascertain the emancipatory function of this new approach by providing some examples of research output in connection to perpetual social problems in modern social settings. Rabiul Islam and Md. Sayeed Akhter have written

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Chap. 8: ‘Narrative Inquiry, Phenomenology, and Grounded Theory in Qualitative Research’. This chapter discusses the three major types of qualitative research— narrative inquiry, phenomenology, and grounded theory. Firstly, this chapter briefly discusses the issue of qualitative research and types. Secondly, it offers a conceptual understanding of narrative inquiry, phenomenology, and grounded theory including their basic characteristics. Finally, the chapter provides an outline of how these three types of qualitative research are applied in the field. Md. Rafiqul Islam has written Chap. 9: ‘Pragmatism’. The author argues that social scientists have been able to abandon the dilemma of choosing methodology selection of either qualitative or quantitative with the development of pragmatism in social research. Pragmatism as a worldview has helped the researchers to combine both the qualitative and quantitative methodologies for conducting social research. Therefore, pragmatism is a nascent topic of scholarly attention in social science research. This chapter is, thus, an attempt to highlight the definition, development, and major characteristics of pragmatism. This chapter also explains how pragmatism supports mixed-method research in social science research. Part III: ‘Quantitative Research Approach’ includes eight chapters (10–17). Md. Rezaul Karim in Chap. 10 designs a quantitative research proposal. It starts with the definition and purpose of the research proposal followed by a description of essential parts of a research proposal and matters included in each part, organization of a research proposal and guidelines for writing the different parts of the proposal including practical considerations and aims of a proposal that facilitate the acceptance of the proposal. Finally, an example of a quantitative research proposal has been presented. It is expected that the researchers will be able to write their research proposal(s) by using the guidelines presented in the article. In Chap. 11: ‘Experimental Method’, the authors Syed Tanveer Rahman and Md. Rabiul Islam mention that the experimental design is considered to be the most scientific one as it can establish a “causal relation” between independent and dependent variables using control mechanisms upon empirical observation. For social research, however, true experimentation with rigorous control over the situation might seem to be very intriguing and challenging due to the conditions and participants. That is why, the quasi-experimental design is often very popular with social researchers. Both of the designs have their types with advantages and disadvantages and prominent characteristics. The researcher has to decide to resort to the appropriate design depending on the purpose and objective of his or her research. The sampling technique, instruments for measurement, statistical analyses, and finally the interpretation of data are depending upon the design of the research, too. In Chap. 12, Isahaque Ali, Azlinda Azman, Shahid Mallick, Tahmina Sultana, and Zulkarnain A. Hatta offered a ‘Social Survey Method’ that is one of the most commonly used methods in all branches of social sciences research. This research is best used to gain information about large populations. There are two main types of survey research, cross-sectional and longitudinal. The motivation of the respondent and openness of the researchers is of utmost importance for survey research. The chapter will guide young researchers in a manner so that they can make a clear distinction of the survey method with other methods used in social science researches.

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Shofiqur Rahman Chowdhury, Mohammad Ali Oakkas, and Faisal Ahmmed have written Chap. 13 entitled ‘Survey Questionnaire’. This chapter is designed to provide a guideline for a researcher who wants to conduct a survey taking the questionnaire as an instrument of data collection. Based on the authors’ experience of using the survey questionnaire, it discusses the meaning, characteristics, and types of questionnaire, its applicability, advantages and disadvantages, and the quality of a researcher while using the questionnaire. It is expected that the reading of this chapter will provide a better understanding of the appropriate use of the survey questionnaire, their construction, and the way to increase the respondents’ spontaneous participation in survey research. In Chap. 14, ‘Interview Method’, Hazreena Hussein writes that the rationale of research interviews is to gain people’s knowledge, views, and experiences, which are meaningful in understanding social realities. Although some research interviews are time-consuming, researchers can interact and communicate while developing a rapport with people to find out these facts—something observations or surveys can never do. How a response from an interview is made (tone of voice, facial expression, hesitation) can feed information that a written response would conceal. Having a good audio-quality recorder would be of great assistance. However, if the respondent refuses to be recorded, researchers should practise note-taking. What researchers need to be careful of is what and how to ask, as some information may be controversial and confidential information. Interviews are a highly subjective method, and the danger of bias always exists. Moniruzzaman Sarker and Mohammed Abdulmalek AL-Muaalemi write the ‘Sampling Techniques for Quantitative Research’ in Chap. 15. The authors mention that this sampling squanders resources like time and money which can be minimized by choosing suitable sampling techniques between probability and non-probability methods. The chapter outlines a brief idea about the different categories of sampling techniques with examples. Sensibly selecting among the sampling techniques allows the researcher to generalize the findings to a specific study context. Although probability sampling is more appealing to draw a representative sample, non-probability sampling techniques also enable the researcher to generalize the findings upon implementing the sampling strategy wisely. Moreover, adopting probability sampling techniques is not feasible in many situations. The chapter suggests selecting sampling techniques should be guided by research objectives, study scope, and availability of sampling frame rather than looking at the nature of sampling techniques. The last two chapters (Chaps. 16 and 17) of this part ‘Data Analysis Techniques for Quantitative Study’ and ‘Techniques for Reporting Quantitative Data’ are written by Md. Mahsin. The author provides some interesting and useful data analysis tools and techniques for quantitative data. We hope the readers will be benefitted to use these techniques in their practical research practices. Both authors mention these as non-technical simple guidelines especially for a social scientist, ignoring traditional statistical formulas. The guideline is developed for the initial level of the researcher, and the authors have assumed that the researcher has limited prior knowledge with either statistics or computing. Both chapters did not explore how to apply the technique/statistics for data analysis but also guide step by step that will be the specific

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techniques or guidelines for choosing appropriate statistics for analysing data in a quantitative study. Though both chapters are designed especially for a social scientist, these will also be essential reading for psychology, sociology, social policy, and other general science and business students following courses in statistics, data analysis, or research methods. In Chap. 19, the author provides some aspects which are suitable to present quantitative data based on the natures of studies and data. Part IV: ‘Qualitative Research Approach’ include 13 chapters (18–30). In Chap. 18, Md. Ismail Hossain, Nafiul Mehedi, and Iftakhar Ahmad write the ‘Designing a Research Proposal in Qualitative Research’. This chapter looks at the main aspects of the research proposal designing in qualitative research. The author explores a template of a research design to give a clear and well understanding of the different steps of the research proposal. The author argues that there is no specific template that is universally accepted. This template includes all major aspects of a proposal in qualitative research. First, the topic provides the definitions of the main concepts such as qualitative research, research designing, and research proposal. Secondly, it provides a template that shows the key steps that a research student will follow while writing a research proposal. Niaz Ahmed Khan and A. Z. M. Manzoor Rashid have written Chap. 19: ‘Action and Evidence-Based Research’. This chapter proffers an overview of action and evidence-based research as two related yet distinct methods commonly used in the exploration of society. The purpose is to provide a summary and synthesis of the key dimensions of these methods from the viewpoint of tertiary literature. This chapter examines the basic features, scope, and limitations of action research. Evidence-based research and its application in various practices and trades, most notably, in medicine and nursing professions have become popular since the 1990s. The method essentially focuses on reliable, verifiable, and qualityassured research that can be used as ‘evidence’ in making informed and objective professional and/or policy decisions and judgments. Here, the emphasis is on the generation and use of evidence that draws on rigorous scientific research as distinct from and opposed to intuition, tradition, subjective unsubstantiated opinion, or other unsound bases of information. M. Rezaul Islam has written the ‘Participatory Research’ in Chap. 20. The author attempts to introduce participatory research simplistically so that the readers can understand this research approach easily. First, the chapter provides a brief introduction to participatory research that underlines the boundary and scope of this research. Then, the chapter provides the meanings and some referred definitions. It gives a brief description of how this kind of research differs from action research. The next sections of this chapter highlight the methods of participatory research and then discuss the fundamental characteristics and principles followed by the stages of this research. The next sections briefly explain the importance of this research followed by the ethics and challenges that should be considered to conduct such kind of research followed by a brief conclusion. In Chap. 21, R. M. Channaveer and Rajendra Baikady write a ‘Case Study’ that reviews the strengths and limitations of this method. This chapter provides an account of an evidence base to justify why a case study is best suitable for some research questions and why not for some other

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research questions. The chapter also focuses on the types of case studies and when and where to use case studies as a research method in social science research. In Chap. 22, Faisal Ahmmed writes the ethnographic method of qualitative research in light of his field experience. He mentions that many graduate students face a challenge in selecting appropriate qualitative methodology for their research. This might be because of a poor understanding of the principles for selecting a particular. Limited experience in conducting qualitative research can also be the reason. This chapter is an attempt to make the issues clear to novice researchers so that they can select and conduct ethnographic research following certain steps. Not quantifying data, it also explains how narrative description is used in ethnographic research as the product of analysis with maximum accuracy. An ethnographic researcher ends by reporting a rich description of the cultural meaning of the phenomenon in a particular culture through investigating the phenomenon in naturalistic settings. In Chap. 23, Ndungi wa Mungai in his chapter ‘Indigenous and Decolonizing Research Methodology’ presents an introduction to alternative approaches to research based on indigenous worldviews and knowledge. This approach also emphasizes decolonizing research methods that are developed from a Eurocentric view of the world. It argues for the urgent need to apply methods that are meaningful to non-Euro-western people as part of mental decolonization and liberation. When research is conducted from a Euro-western perspective, it privileges a single worldview and ignores and marginalizes others. How research is designed, implemented, and interpreted and who has a say in these processes have a bearing on the outcome. An indigenous and decolonizing paradigm prioritizes collective identity, sharing of knowledge, respect of people’s history, culture, spirituality, and relationships as seen from their perspective. It is concluded that while the indigenous and decolonizing methodology is still evolving, there is a rich body of work that attests to its viability. Md. Golam Azam writes Chap. 24 ‘In-Depth Case Interview’. The author argues that interview has a long history of extensive use for data collection across all the disciplines of the social sciences. In social research, there are many types of the interview being comprehensively used to elicit in-depth information from the respondents under research study. The present writing is not an attempt to look at every single type of interview. Instead, this focuses only on an in-depth interview, a useful method of collecting detailed information. Here, the writer has briefly explained relevant issues of carrying out an in-depth interview that has widespread acceptance and popularity as a method of qualitative research and also of data collection in the fields of social research. Shekh Farid writes Chap. 25 entitled ‘Observation’. The author mentions observation as one of the direct methods of data collection in social research. It is taken for granted as a scientific one when it serves a specific research objective, is systematically planned and recorded, and is subjected to check its validity and reliability as a scientific inquiry. While using an observational method, the researcher may actively participate in activities of the group he is studying or may also be a detached emissary from the group, he may use precision instrument prepared in advance or may also be flexible, and he may also observe in a controlled environment or the natural setting. The greatest advantage of using the observational method is that it allows researchers to collect data through observing phenomena as they take place.

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As observation is not truly objective, researchers’ own beliefs and values may also prejudice the data. However, observation has become an extensively used method in social sciences, mostly in the study of human behaviour. In Chap. 26, Niaz Ahmed Khan and Shireen Abedin provide a short template of the focus group discussions. The readers will be benefited to read this chapter as it highlights briefly all aspects of this method such as definition, characteristics, and usefulness and when and how this method will be used, the role of the moderator, and its advantages and disadvantages. Salma Akhter writes Chap. 27 ‘Key Informants’ Interviews’. This is another useful qualitative data collection technique. The author mentions that data collectors involve interviewing a select group of individuals who are likely to provide needed information, ideas, and insights on a particular subject as an expert source of information. KIIs are conducted to collect information from a wide range of people including community leaders, professionals, or residents who have first-hand knowledge about the community who from their particular knowledge and understanding can give recommendations for solutions. In Chap. 28 entailed ‘Discourse Analysis’, Lokasundari Vijaya Sankar mentions that discourse analysis is both a methodology and an approach to the analysis of discourse. It is a term used for the examination and analysis of speech and writing, though other texts which give meaning are included in the definition of discourse. The chapter outlines what discourse analysis is, shows the importance of context and culture in this method of analysis, outlines some common approaches to discourse analysis, and shows how to design a study for discourse analysis. The last two Chaps. 29 and 30 of this part ‘Sampling Techniques for Qualitative Research’ and ‘Data Analysis Techniques for Qualitative Study’ are written by Heather Douglas. The author discusses sampling strategies that are suitable for qualitative studies, particularly purposive (or theoretical) sampling to produce credible and trustworthy explanations of a phenomenon. The author first revises some core research concepts. The author mentions that the purpose of qualitative research is to understand or explain a phenomenon—that is, an issue, practice, event, behaviour, or situation. A qualitative approach is most appropriate when little is known about the topic from previous research. Other reasons for doing a qualitative study include when the phenomenon is complex or examine a particular phenomenon in great detail or when you need to assess policy outcomes. In Chap. 33, the author discussed the process, tools, and techniques of qualitative data analysis very briefly. Part V: ‘Mixed Method Approach’ included one chapter (Chap. 31) entitled ‘Designing a Research Proposal in Mixed-Method Approach’. The author of the chapter Lokasundari Vijaya Sankar argues that a research proposal is an important document that outlines a plan for a research study. It should contain pertinent and sufficient information for the application of grants, scholarships, these proposals, and other scientific studies to be examined and approved by a panel of examiners. A research proposal should first introduce the topic of study and its importance to the scientific community. It has further given an argument as to why the study is important and outline the objective and research questions that drive the study. A clear and succinct plan for the study has been mapped by describing the theory that

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the study is based on the sample, data collection, and analysis methods. A timeline for the proposed study is also included in the chapter. Part VI: ‘Data Collection Instrument Development, Fieldwork and Research Ethics’ include three chapters (32–34). In Chap. 32: ‘Preparation and Development of Data Collection Instruments for Social Research’, M. Rezaul Islam presents a clear idea to the research students on the preparation and development of data collection instruments for conducting social research. There are numerous debates about the types of data collection instruments in social research. The author has written off all of these instruments into main three categories, such as interview schedule, guideline, and checklist. First, this chapter provides the general rules for the preparation and development of these instruments and then describes the preparatory stages. Secondly, it provides a template of each type of instrument. Md. Abul Hossen in Chap. 33: ‘Fieldwork for Data Collection: Preparation and Challenges’ mentions field research as one of the most central strategies of the data collection process. Field research can be challenging, exciting, and rewarding. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the meaning and importance of field research and to provide a basic understanding to the new researcher who wants to conduct field research. While the chapter highlights the common field research practices. It also discusses the potential tensions, dilemmas, and challenges that may encounter during field research and the strategies needed to address them. This chapter argues that it is important to pay greater attention to issues of reflexivity, positionality, and power relations in the field to conduct emancipatory research. Such activity includes greater attention to the openness about the purpose of the research and activities undertaken, selfdisclosure, mutual sharing of information and shows respect and explicit recognition of the expertise of the participant that gained through lived experiences. The author A. K. M. Ahsan Ullah in his Chap. 34: ‘Ethics and Empirics: Essence of Ethics in Social Research’ addresses a few steps of ethical issues and points out the fact that ethics are fundamental issues in upholding the quality of research. This chapter analyses the steps and procedures of ethical protections that the contemporary social research establishment has created to better protect better the rights and privacy of the research participants. Keeping the participant anonymous throughout the research is one of the fundamental principles of research ethics. Since ethical issues came into place in research processes, hierarchies between researchers and researchers have withered away. This means that research participants could not be coerced into participating in research anymore, and they have the liberty to withdraw from the research at any time. Depending on the level of sensitivity (physical, psychological, political, and financial), the application for ethical approval for particular research has to go through a varied level of rigour of the ethical process. Part VII: ‘Referencing and Plagiarism’ included one chapter, Chap. 35: ‘Plagiarism and Referencing Techniques Used in Social Research Report’. The authors Hossain M. Zabed and Xianghui Qi provide the referencing techniques used in a social research report. Referencing is an essential part of an academic report in any discipline. However, referencing systems can vary in the preferred styles for a journal or the organization where a report will be submitted. This creates major confusion for the researchers, particularly undergraduate and postgraduate students

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during their academic writing. Therefore, the acquirement of the proper knowledge on referencing styles by young researchers will help them to write their research report. A standard referencing system consists of the in-text citation and the list of all references used at the end of the report. Both the positioning and style of the reference in text and the reference list are regulated by rules pre-defined for a specific style. Several reference management software systems have been developed, and when used, these make the references in the report consistent with the prescribed rules and minimize errors. Endnote is one of these software systems that are widely used in all fields of academic research. Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Dhaka, Bangladesh Johannesburg, South Africa

M. Rezaul Islam, Ph.D. Niaz Ahmed Khan, Ph.D. Rajendra Baikady, Ph.D.

Acknowledgements

The book Principles of Social Research Methodology is a compilation of social science research methodologies. All authors write their chapters from their own experiences that they gained through their professional research practices. The editors would like to acknowledge the help of all the people in the project and more specifically the authors who wrote the chapters. Their valuable contributions as authors make it possible to bring this book to the readers. The editors also appreciate the reviewers’ contributions who took part in the review process. Without their voluntary contributions, this book couldn’t become a reality. Finally, the editors would like to thank Springer who initiated to publish this book.

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Contents

Part I

Introduction to Social Research

1

Inquiry: A Fundamental Concept for Scientific Investigation . . . . . . M. Rezaul Islam

3

2

Research: Meaning and Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kazi Abusaleh and Akib Bin Anwar

15

3

Social Research: Definitions, Types, Nature, and Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kanamik Kani Khan and Md. Mohsin Reza

4

Theory in Social Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mumtaz Ali, Maya Khemlani David, and Kuang Ching Hei

Part II

29 43

Philosophy of Social Science and Research Paradigms

5

Inductive and/or Deductive Research Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Md. Shahidul Haque

59

6

Positivism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Premalatha Karupiah

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Critical Theory in Social Research: A Theoretical and Methodological Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ashek Mahmud and Farhana Zaman

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8

Narrative Inquiry, Phenomenology, and Grounded Theory in Qualitative Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Rabiul Islam and Md. Sayeed Akhter

9

Pragmatism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Md. Rafiqul Islam

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Part III Quantitative Research Approach 10 Designing Research Proposal in Quantitative Approach . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Md. Rezaul Karim 11 Experimental Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Syed Tanveer Rahman and Md. Rabiul Islam 12 Social Survey Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Isahaque Ali, Azlinda Azman, Shahid Mallick, Tahmina Sultana, and Zulkarnain A. Hatta 13 Survey Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Shofiqur Rahman Chowdhury, Mohammad Ali Oakkas, and Faisal Ahmmed 14 Interview Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Hazreena Hussein 15 Sampling Techniques for Quantitative Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 Moniruzzaman Sarker and Mohammed Abdulmalek AL-Muaalemi 16 Data Analysis Techniques for Quantitative Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 Md. Mahsin 17 Techniques for Reporting Quantitative Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 Md. Mahsin Part IV Qualitative Research Approach 18 Designing a Research Proposal in Qualitative Research . . . . . . . . . . . 263 Md. Ismail Hossain, Nafiul Mehedi, and Iftakhar Ahmad 19 Action and Evidence-Based Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 Niaz Ahmed Khan and A. Z. M. Manzoor Rashid 20 Participatory Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 M. Rezaul Islam 21 Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313 R. M. Channaveer and Rajendra Baikady 22 Ethnographic Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323 Faisal Ahmmed 23 Indigenous and Decolonizing Research Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 Ndungi wa Mungai 24 In-Depth Case Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347 Md. Golam Azam 25 Observation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365 Shekh Farid

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26 Focus Group Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377 Niaz Ahmed Khan and Shireen Abedin 27 Key Informants’ Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389 Salma Akhter 28 Discourse Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405 Lokasundari Vijaya Sankar 29 Sampling Techniques for Qualitative Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415 Heather Douglas 30 Data Analysis Techniques for Qualitative Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427 Heather Douglas Part V

Mixed Method Approach

31 Designing a Research Proposal in Mixed-Method Approach . . . . . . . 437 Lokasundari Vijaya Sankar Part VI

Data Collection Instrument Development, Fieldwork and Research Ethics

32 Preparation and Development of Data Collection Instruments for Social Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449 M. Rezaul Islam 33 Fieldwork for Data Collection: Preparation and Challenges . . . . . . . 463 Md. Abul Hossen 34 Ethics and Empirics: Essence of Ethics in Social Research . . . . . . . . 471 A. K. M. Ahsan Ullah Part VII

Referencing and Plagiarism

35 Plagiarism and Referencing Techniques Used in Social Research Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485 Hossain M. Zabed and Xianghui Qi Author Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507

Editors and Contributors

About the Editors M. Rezaul Islam (Ph.D.) is Post Doc Fellow at the Center for Family and Child Studies, Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; Professor at the Institute of Social Welfare & Research, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh; Senior Research Fellow at the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Academic Fellow at the School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia. His research interests focus on social work, community wellbeing, climate justice, international migration and poverty and social inequality. He is currently Member of International Advisory Board of the Community Development Journal (Oxford University Press) and Editorial Board Member of three journals, i.e. Asian Social Work and Policy Review (Wiley), Local Development and Society (Taylor & Francis) and International Community Well-being (Springer). Niaz Ahmed Khan (Ph.D.) is currently Pro Vice Chancellor at the Independant University Bangladesh (IUB). He is Professor and former Chairman at the Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka; Senior Academic AdviserBRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD, BRAC University); and Chairman, Bangladesh Tropical Forest Conservation (Arannayak) Foundation. He pursued doctoral and post-doctoral education and research in the University of Wales Swansea, University of Oxford, and Asian Institute of Technology. His career reflects a rich blend of academic and practising development management experiences gained in Bangladesh, Thailand and the UK. Besides serving as Bangladesh Country Representative of IUCN–the International Union for Conservation of Nature (the world’s largest environmental network [intergovernmental] organization, some of his other former positions include: Senior Programme Coordinator, UNDP-Bangladesh; Forest and Natural Resource Management Specialist (RETA 5900), Asian Development Bank (ADB), South Asian Fellow, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford; Distinguished Visiting Researcher, The American University in Cairo; and Distinguished

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Visiting Professor, Asian University for Women (AUW). He has published extensively, and his articles/chapters have appeared in journals and books with such reputed publishers as Springer, Routledge/Taylor & Francis, Sage, Oxford University Press, Wiley, Palgrave Macmillan, and Elsevier. He is also involved in extensive journal management and editorial services; examples include Member, International Advisory Board Community Development Journal (Oxford: Oxford University Press); and Member, Editorial Advisory Board Area Development and Policy (Routledge: Taylor & Francis). Rajendra Baikady (Ph.D.) holds a dual appointment as a URC Special Post-Doctoral Fellow and as a Senior Research Associate in at the Department of Social Work and Community Development, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. In addition to this, Baikady is a Principal Investigator (Summer research Fellowship) at International Socioeconomics Laboratory, Harvard University, United States. He completed his first Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel (2019–2020) and was awarded Golda Meir Fellowship by Lady Davis Trust at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has wide research experience in evaluating best practices of social work education and practice at both local and global contexts. His recent books include The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Work Education (Palgrave Macmillan), Social Welfare Policies and Programmes in South Asia (Routledge), Building Sustainable Communities-Civil Society Response in South Asia (Palgrave Macmillan) and Social Welfare in India and China: A Comparison (Palgrave Macmillan).

Contributors Abedin Shireen is Founder and Head of Research, E2E Research and Consultancy. Her research interests are communications research, child rights and protection, poverty, and inequality. Abul Hossen Md. (Ph.D.) is Professor and former Chairman at the Department of Social Work, Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. His fields of interests are public globalization, the healthcare system, inequalities in health and gender, and ageing issues. Abusaleh Kazi (MSS) Assistant Manager—Research, Research and Policy Division, Transparency International Bangladesh. His research interest focuses mainly on globalization and culture, international and domestic labour migration, population dynamics, community development, and minority rights which are mostly ingrained by the human rights approach. Ahmad Iftakhar (MSS in Social Work) is graduated in Social Work from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, in 2019. After completing his postgraduation degree, he is actively working on several research projects.

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Ahmmed Faisal (Ph.D.) is Professor and Head at the Department of Social Work, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh. His research fields include indigenous peoples, child labour, wetland management, food security, climate change, public health, NGOs, and gender development. Ahsan Ullah A. K. M. (Ph.D.) is Associate Professor of Geography and Development Studies at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in the Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei. His fields of interests include population migration, development, and third world countries. Akhter Salma is Professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her research interests include gender, social development, NGO, social inclusion, and financial and public health. AL-Muaalemi Mohammed Abdulmalek is Ph.D. Candidate at the Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya, Malaysia. His research areas are closed-loop supply chain management and consumer behaviour. Ali Isahaque (Ph.D.) is Lecturer, Social Work Section, School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia. His research expertise includes poverty, social development, public health, social welfare policy. Ali Mumtaz is Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan. His field of interests are in community development, NGO management, and criminology. Anwar Akib Bin is Community Mobilization Manager, Winrock International, Dhaka, Bangladesh. His research interests include international labour migration, climate change and migration, and politics. Azman Azlinda (Ph.D.) is Professor in the Social Work Section and Dean, School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Malaysia. He works on community development, family institution and wellbeing, poverty, HIV/AIDS, and drug-related issues. Baikady Rajendra (Ph.D.) is a Post Doctoral Fellow and Senior Research Associate at the Department of Social Work, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He works on social welfare and social work education. Channaveer R. M. (Ph.D.) is Professor, Dean, and Head of the Department of Social Work, Central University of Karnataka, India. He works on social entrepreneurship and social development. Chowdhury Shofiqur Rahman (Ph.D.) is Professor at the Department of Social Work, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh. He works on NGOs, faith-based NGOs, and community empowerment. David Maya Khemlani (Ph.D.) is Professor in Sociolinguistics at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya, and Adjunct Professor, Jaipuria

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Institute of Management, Lucknow, and Research Associate, Asia Europe Institute, University of Malaya. Her field of interests is language shift and language maintenance and culture in discourse analysis. Douglas Heather (Ph.D.) is Industry Fellow, Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, The University of Queensland, Australia. Her expertise includes business, government and society, institutional change, social innovation processes, and hybrid organizations. Farid Shekh is Statistical Officer, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Bangladesh. His field of interest includes social development and ageing issues. Golam Azam Md. (Ph.D.) is Professor at the Institute of Social Welfare and Research, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. His expertise includes community development, social deviance, and social research. Haque Md. Shahidul is Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Work, Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. His field of interests is social development, poverty reduction, rural development, NGO activities, correctional services, disaster management, and psychiatric and counselling social work. Hatta Zulkarnain A. (Ph.D.) is Professor and Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities at Lincoln University College, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. His field of interest includes spirituality and social work, social welfare policy, poverty, and community development. Hei Kuang Ching is Consultant (Learning and Development), Universal Business Academy, Malaysia. The author’s fields of interests are discourse analysis and teaching and learning in higher education. Hossain Md. Ismail (Ph.D.) is Professor of Social Work at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh. He received Ph.D. in Labour Studies. Along with labour rights issues, his research expertise also covers disaster management, gender development, and the social safety nets programme of Bangladesh. Hussein Hazreena (Ph.D.) is Associate Professor at the Department of Architecture, University of Malaya, Malaysia. Her research interests are on environment– behaviour interactions, inclusive access to outdoor environments, and multisensory stimulation environments. Islam M. Rezaul (Ph.D.) is a Professor at the Institute of Social Welfare & Research, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dr Islam works on social research methodology, poverty, social inequality, human rights, community development, globalization, social capital and international migration. Islam Md. Rafiqul (Ph.D.) is Professor at the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. His research interests are environmental security, conflict, and peace issues.

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Islam Rabiul (Ph.D.) is Professor at the Department of Social Work, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. His field of interests include social capital and disaster resilience, community-based disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, disaster gender, and public health. Karim Md. Rezaul (Ph.D.) is Professor at the Department of Social Work, Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. His field of interest includes social research methodology, poverty and inequality, social development, and good governance. Karupiah Premalatha (Ph.D.) is Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia. Her research interest includes beauty culture, femininity, and quantitative and qualitative research. Khan Kanamik Kani is Lecturer at the School of Health and Social Care, University of Essex, UK. His research interest includes human rights, public health, and social service. Khan Niaz Ahmed (Ph.D.) is a Professor and former Chair of, Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. His research interests are community-based natural resource management, environmental policy and governance. Mahmud Ashek (Ph.D.) is Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. His research expertise includes social capital and media. Mahsin Md. is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Statistical Research and Training, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Ph.D. Fellow at the University of Calgary, Canada. His research interests are statistical analysis for repeated measurements and longitudinal data, statistical methods for clinical trials and observational studies, survival analysis, and biostatistical and epidemiological analysis. Mallick Shahid is Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Gono Bishwabidalay (University), Dhaka, Bangladesh. His research expertise covers water pollution, climate change, and social change Manzoor Rashid A. Z. M. (Ph.D.) is Professor at the Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh. His fields of interests include NRM and environmental governance, legal, institutional, and policy issues of NRM, non-wood forest resources for community development, co-management of protected areas, community-based adaptation and integrated resource management, and participatory, indigenous and sustainable forestry practices. Mehedi Nafiul (MSS in Social Work) has been graduated in social work from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, in 2019. He is currently doing his master thesis and is actively engaged in some research projects.

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Mohsin Reza Md. (Ph.D.) is Associate Professor at the Department of Social Work, Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. His field of interest includes economic and social wellbeing and international labour migration. Moniruzzaman Sarker (Ph.D.) is Assistant Professor of Marketing, Southamton Malysia Business School, University of Southamton Malysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. His research areas include services branding, consumer behaviour, travel and tourism marketing, transportation services, and adventure tourism research. Oakkas Mohammad Ali (Ph.D.) is Associate Professor at the Department of Social Work, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh. He works on wetland management, Haor people and their livelihood, ethnic community, and NGO initiatives for social development. Qi Xianghui (Ph.D.), School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China. Rabiul Islam Md. (Ph.D.) is Professor at the Institute of Social Welfare and Research, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dr. Islam works on elder people, child welfare, and human rights. Rahman Syed Tanveer is Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Dhaka. He works on family studies, environmental psychology, positive psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, psychological measurement, and memory. Sankar Lokasundari Vijaya (Ph.D.) is a retired Associate Professor at the School of Communication, Taylor’s University, Malaysia. Her fields of research interests are language and women, language and human rights. Sayeed Akhter Md. is Associate Professor at the Department of Social Work, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. His research interests include capability approach and microfinance, gender and bargaining power, community development, and women empowerment. Sultana Tahmina is Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Gono Bishwabidalay (University), Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her research expertise is gender and women empowerment. wa Mungai Ndungi (Ph.D.) is Lecturer in Social Work and Human Services, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Australia. Dr. Ndungi works in a variety of social work settings including research, telephone relationship counselling for men, counsellor/advocate in torture and trauma, a caseworker for asylum seekers, housing support worker, foster care field worker, and social worker at Centrelink (locum position). Zabed Hossain M. (Ph.D.) is Professor at the School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China. His research interest includes biofuels, bioproducts, bioactive compounds, and synthetic biology.

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Zaman Farhana (Ph.D.) is Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, Jagannath University Dhaka, Bangladesh. His research expertise includes disasters and health and illness.

Part I

Introduction to Social Research

Chapter 1

Inquiry: A Fundamental Concept for Scientific Investigation M. Rezaul Islam

Abstract This chapter provides a brief description of ‘inquiry’, a very important but rarely includes in the research methodology books. Initially, the chapter explains the conceptual definition of inquiry with the phases that develop ideas about inquiry. Then the chapter discusses the different characteristics of inquiry. Then, it provides a brief description of the theories and sources of inquiry in social research. The processes, steps, and methods of inquiry are explained with ‘20 questions’ inquiry process. Then the chapter includes a brief description of the position of inquiry in education learning. Finally, the chapter explains the importance of inquiry in social research. Keywords Inquiry and enquiry · Question. Scientific process · Education learning · Social research

Introduction Social research books rarely address the term ‘inquiry’, though it is important to know this concept if we want to understand social research clearly. I think the term ‘inquiry’ is a root/fundamental concept in social research that liquefies throughout the discussion of the tools and techniques in social research. Research is a scientific inquiry or sometimes called scientific investigation that looks at human behaviours, their relationships and explores social changes over time. Social research always attempts to add some new knowledge with the existing knowledge where inquiry is a starting point that helps to think this process scientifically. This is an urgent requirement for a researcher who needs to contour his/her mind towards inquiry from the very beginning of a research initiative. The knowledge on inquiry is very important as this helps to consider any idea to consider into M. R. Islam (B) Institute of Social Welfare and Research, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] Centre for Family and Child Studies, Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_1

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the scientific process. This aids a researcher to reach a scientific decision with a research agenda. From identifying this agenda, inquiry helps to go through into a deeper understanding about the situation, to raise the different questions within this situation, and to come to a decision that will be finally revisiting this for investigation.

Definition of Inquiry The literature about the definition of ‘inquiry’ gives a certain level of confusion as it is muddled by many other related concepts. Inquiry and enquiry are compatible, but we should awake that many will deliberate enquiry to be a spelling mistake of inquiry. However, it is desirable to custom inquiry to represent an investigation, and enquiry to represent a question. However, these are two spellings of a similar word, which means to look for facts about something or to conduct a formal examination (typically when tailed by ‘into’) (English Forum, 2014). The equivalent noun is enquiry or inquiry. Both spellings can be used, but many people choose to enquire or enquiry for the overall sense of ‘ask’, and inquire and inquiry for a formal investigation. In practice, enquire and enquiry are more common in British English, and inquire and inquiry are more conjoint in US English, for both informal questions and formal investigations. The Guardian (a British newspaper) says that the writers use ‘inquiry’. On the other hand, the Oxford English Dictionary mentions that it is an alternative form of INQUIRE. Inquire as to the standard form, but enquire is still very frequently used, especially in the sense ‘to ask a question’. According to Conburn (2000), ‘inquiry’ means the systematic and disciplined collection of knowledge that leads to the development of knowledge. The conduct of inquiry involves a planned method. Littlejohn (1992) argues that inquiry has an expected outcome. During the third stage, the scholar formulates answers. This stage can be defined as theory building. From this description, we see that an inquiry is a procedure to enlarge knowledge, resolve doubt, or solve a problem. A theory of inquiry is an explanation of the several kinds of inquiry and an action of the means that each type of inquiry attains its object. Usually, we prefer to use ‘scientific inquiry’ rather than just ‘inquiry’. Scientific inquiry denotes the varied ways in which scientists investigate the natural world and suggests clarifications based on the evidence consequent from their effort. We can say that it is a procedure of emerging a clarification of interrogation in the natural world (or universe) through testing, investigating and collecting data that will either support or disprove our original knowledge of what’s going on (National Research Council, 1996). This kind of inquiry is a way to enquire and respond to scientific questions by building observations and doing experiments. On the other hand, there are widely used the term ‘social inquiry’ where shows that it is a combined procedure for examining social issues, ideas, and themes. According to Newfoundland Labrador (2011), a social inquiry is to: Ask questions, gather information and background ideas, and examine relevant current issues; explore and analyze people’s values and perspectives; consider how people make

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decisions and participate in social action; reflect on and evaluate the understandings, they have developed and the responses that may be required

Inquiry rises in the human mind through several phases which gives more clear understanding to the readers. The Just Science Now (2014) conducted an interview with Nancy T. Davis who remarked that there are four phases of the inquiry approaches. One phase is branded by queries that escort students to make their innovations. This chapter directly quotes the phases as follows:

Box 1.1: Phases of inquiry Initiation Phase It is mainly deliberated to encourage and stimulate students’ nosiness through asking questions. This phase offers students a chance to practise a phenomenon or somewhat first-hand that encounters earlier credence or assumption. Exploration Phase This second Phase, queries are excluded or lessened down the questions that students can bodily reply to through experimentation or research. Experimentation Phase In this phase, students experimented to gather data and information, and then articulate a method of presentation. Presentation Phase In this last phase, students congregate data through experiments, and attempt for presentation. They can use different presentations tools and techniques which are most visible and understandable. They present such a way so that the present experimental data provide sufficient explanation with all causes-effects towards to solve the problem. Source Just Science Now (2014) An inquiry is composed of a scientific investigation that follows some phases (Fig. 1.1), i.e., ask a question, do background research, construct a hypothesis, test with an experiment, analyse results and conclude. In this phase, a hypothesis can be true or false, and then reports results based on the hypothesis. However, a hypothesis is the ‘core zone’ to construct an inquiry where further thinking may be needed for a true inquiry. This hypothesis is a true decision that is brought to justify under such inquiry.

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Ask question

Do background research

Think! Try again

Construct hypothesis

Test with an experiment

Analysis results Draw conclusion

Hypothesis is true

Hypothesis is false or partly true

Report results

Fig. 1.1 Inquiry from asking question to find a result. Source Developed by author

Characteristics of Inquiry Inquiry is asking good questions which are available and can be responded to in part or whole and lead to evocative tests and investigations. The characteristics comprise: ascertaining ways of articulating questions; building apposite and orderly designs; thoughtful rules of evidence; using scientific thoughts, principles models and theories in suggesting descriptions, and evaluating scientific decisions with genuine scepticism. In precise, indulgent scientific inquiry entails that students distinguish that scientific results are timid and subject to alteration and that they are exaggerated by culture and personalities (Oregon Department Education, 2000). We can quote

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from the New Los Angles Charter School (2014), in a learning process in education, inquiry conceives the following characteristics (Box 1.2):

Box 1.2: Characteristics of inquiry (i)

Generally, we say that inquiry is what scientists do. It is more than a body of concepts and facts. (ii) Inquiry delivers actual, vigorous scholarship of practices. (iii) Inquiry promotes further enquiry and this spirit promotes someone for further scientific investigation. (iv) Inquiry stimulates someone to learn structured and scientific disciplines that are more experimental and universal. (v) Inquiry creates some norms of learning procedure through asking questions and knowing answers as a matter of fact-finding. (vi) Inquiry allows students at different developmental states to work on similar problems and even collaborate in finding solutions to those problems. Each student gets to bring his or her special talents into play. (vii) Inquiry permits to allow a learning environment where both students and teachers can participate in a joint initiative through asking what, why and how. (viii) Inquiry necessitates some form of responsibility for innovation and change. Source New Los Angles Charter School (2014) In general, a scientific inquiry has the following general characteristics: • Empirically based. In general, we use the term ‘empirical’ which refers to such kind of knowledge-based upon our observations about the natural world. It is derived from logic and reasoning. The data can be either quantitative or qualitative or both. • Reliable and tentative way of learning. Inquiry is not always be observed as complete, but tentative and revisionary. This kind of reliable and tentative learning is based on natural laws and theories. If it is tentative, it must be supported by empirical evidence that is a scientific idea (even a law). It is noted that every time it may not be possible to prove this in every case and under every condition. This is true that the Newtonian Laws by Einstein is a classic case. Therefore, ‘truth’ incomplete intelligence, deceits external the choice of science (Popper, 1988). In this regard, Cartwright (1983, 1988) argues that scientific laws do not deliver true generalizations, rather, they grasp this kind of statement under some conditions. These describe patterns and principles of the natural world. This is more important that these laws only provide some generalizations under some specific precise conditions.

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• Product of observation and inference. An inquiry is derived from a combination of both observations and inferences. Information is obtained from observations with the five senses and prior knowledge. • Product of creative thinking. It is critically observed that an inquiry does not constantly depend on reasoning and prudence. Rather, creativity is a foremost basis of stimulation and origination yet there are some limitations. It is agreed that this approach gathers data, and examine and construe results. • Use proper methods to develop knowledge. An inquiry goes through a variety of approaches to improve and examine thoughts and to respond to research questions. These methods are descriptive studies, experimentation, correlation, epidemiological studies, and serendipitous discovery. • It is a social activity. This is now well established that scientific inquiry is a social activity. For example, when we investigate any data through observation, in some cases this blends with the subjective factors. Most of our observations are taken from a particular community or cultural setting or some cases these are obtained from the researchers’ experiences how they gather and evaluate data and draw conclusions.

Theories and Sources of Inquiry The classical source of inquiry can be found in Aristotle’s book: Prior Analytics. The basic sources of inquiry are deduction, induction, and abduction. These three terms are included, excluded or mixed while forming any theory through this process. Inductive reasoning is such kind of process that shows a relationship between one extreme term and the middle term using the other extreme. Abduction reasoning uses the first term put on to the middle that the middle applies to the last term is not apparent, yet it is nonetheless more likely or not less likely than the conclusion. On the other hand, the deduction develops through testable significances from the expounding hypotheses that abduction has aided to perceive, and eventually aids to point a decision on the hypotheses, where the nature of the decision is reliant on the sum of testable significances that have been tested. These three processes typically operate cyclically to diminish suspicions and complications and make the inquiry fruitful. The pragmatic paradigm is another source of inquiry. Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, John Dewey, and others stated that an inquiry is meticulously allied with the normative science of logic. The pragmatic model was extorted by Peirce from classical logic, with a while of support from Kant, and polished in equivalent with the initial improvement of symbolic logic by Boole, De Morgan, and Peirce himself to report problems about the nature and conduct of scientific reasoning. Everything has a purpose in the pragmatic style of thinking, and the purpose of each item should be the first thing we strive to observe about it. The goal of an inquiry is to eliminate doubt and lead to a condition of belief, which is sometimes referred to as knowledge or certainty. Because they all help to reach the conclusion where

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three types of extrapolation characterize a cycle that could only be comprehended as a whole, and none of them makes sense without the others. Dewey (1938) defined inquiry as to the well-ordered or focused renovation of an unstipulated condition into one which is as determinate in its integral differences and associations as to transform the rudiments of the inventive condition into a combined whole. The social dimension of the inquiry was included in Dewey and Peirce’s idea of inquiry, which went outside a system of thought.

Processes, Steps and Methods of Inquiry A scientific inquiry follows some procedures, methods and steps. Hebrank (2000) argues that the art and science of asking questions about the natural world and discovering answers are known as enquiry. It entails meticulous observation and measurement, as well as hypothesizing, interpreting, and speculating. It requires investigation, replication, and acknowledgement of the strengths and weaknesses of its methods. Identifiable traits differentiate scientific inquiry from other techniques of gaining information, although methodologies vary from one subject of inquiry to the next. Hypotheses are proposed by scientists as explanations for events, and experimental investigations are designed to verify these hypotheses using predictions drawn from them. To prevent any experimenter from making a mistake or becoming confused, these processes must be reproducible. Many independently generated hypotheses may be bound together in a cohesive, supporting framework by theories that cover broader fields of research. Theories, in turn, may aid in the formation of new hypotheses or the contextualization of sets of hypotheses. Scientific investigation is typically meant to be as objective as possible to minimize biased interpretations of findings (Prins & Gordon, 2014). Science is merely one of many ways individuals investigate, explain, and come to know the world around them, which is an essential component of scientific research. In nearly every manner that people understand the world, there are strands of inquiry and discovery. To contribute to humanity’s overall body of knowledge, all forms of knowledge are welcome. TechThought (2014) recently developed a model of the inquiry process which it calls the ‘20 questions’ inquiry process (Fig. 1.2). It offers 20 questions that can guide student research at any stage. This process has four stages, i.e., pose real questions, find resources, interpret information, and report findings. Within each stage, five questions lead a student ahead to inquiry. The Stripling Inquiry Model consists of six phases; however, it is a recursive process where the learner may return to an earlier stage to ask additional questions or arrange material as needed. Each phase includes critical thinking abilities that enable young people to learn independently and build the cognitive skills necessary to become autonomous, lifelong learners. The steps are as follows: • Connect: perceive and experience that links a topic to self and preceding knowledge

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1

2

3

4 Report Findings

Pose real questions

Find resources

Interpreat informationn

What do I know about this topic?

What kinds of resources might help?

How is this relevant to my question?

What is my main point?

What do I know about my question?

Whre do I find them?

What parts support my answer?

Who is my audience?

How do I know it?

How do I know the information is valid?

How does it relate to what else I know?

What else is imporrtant?

What do I need to know?

Who is the responsible for information?

What parts do not support my answer?

How does it connect?

What could an answer be?

What other information is there?

Does it raise new questions?

How do I use media to express my message?

Fig. 1.2 The inquiry process. (2014) Source Adapted from TechThought

• • • • •

Wonder: envisage, improve questions and hypotheses Investigate: discovery and gauge evidence to riposte queries, test hypotheses Construct: accomplish, attain at original indulgences Express: apply understandings to a new setting, share scholarship with others Reflect: inspect one’s learning and ask new questions (Stripling, 2003, p. 8).

Inquiry in Education Learning The term ‘inquiry’ has been profoundly used in education and education learning. The National Research Council (1996) explains scientific inquiry as to the varied methods in which scientists investigate the natural world and suggest clarifications based on the evidence resulting from their work. Scientific inquiry also states the actions through which students develop knowledge and understanding of scientific

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ideas, as well as a thoughtful of in what way scientists know the natural world. This kind of learning shields the skills and knowledge desired to operate scientific research. This kind of inquiry is the centre point where students learn and scientists understand the natural world. Children interact with their surroundings from an early age, asking questions and seeking answers to those inquiries. A better understanding of science content is meaningfully enriched when ideas are fastened to inquiry experiences. When concepts are tied to inquiry experiences, it is much easier to understand scientific information. Scientific enquiry is a strong tool for grasping scientific concepts. Students learn how to ask questions and respond with proof. As they acquire scientific inquiry procedures, students learn to conduct investigations and collect evidence from a variety of sources, create an explanation from the facts, and communicate and defend their findings. Scientific research covers a wide range of actions that differ considerably from those commonly performed in practical science. However, this approach falls short of resolving the chapter’s major issue: the definition of scientific inquiry as an object that can be used to construct an evaluation program (Hanauer et al., 2009). Moreover, while there is widespread agreement on the potential importance of scientific inquiry for science education, the concept of scientific inquiry has remained elusive and difficult to apply on a practical level. Hodson (1996) argues that deconstructing the simple concept of scientific inquiry as a decontextualized set of discrete concepts that can be readily moved from one scientific setting to another in a historical review and pedagogical criticism of the scientific inquiry movement. Here, genuine scientific investigation is imbued with certain theoretical knowledge and hence contextualized in very particular ways. Hodson further argues that the exertion of an observational task depends critically on what is being observed and what institutes a proper or noteworthy observation. In other words, the task is governed by the nature of the concepts involved. Rather than the intangible claim of practical knowledge, evocative scientific inquiry is contextualized inside a specific and established knowledge framework. Justice et al. (2007) defined the process of inquiry as a cycle. They demonstrated that inquiry learning covers a variety of instructional techniques centred on students learning by creating questions and investigating information within the context of the course curriculum with teacher assistance. This is an approach to understanding that is applicable across all academic departments, from education to STEM majors (Wyatt, 2005) and can equip students to become lifelong learners.

Inquiry in Social Research The term ‘inquiry’ is commonly used in social research. American Geosciences Foundation (2014) develops the following model of scientific inquiry (Fig. 1.3). It claims that this diagram can only be used as a model for scientific activity and that it will always leave many options unexplored. Unexpected outcomes, for example, might both lead to new issues and provide suggestions for the ones being researched.

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Elements of scientific practice, such as the need of collaborating with other scientists, are frequently omitted from such models. Because there are so many different depictions of “the Scientific Method” that instructors may be familiar with, it is not beneficial to spend time comparing and contrasting them. The basic principles behind these portrayals haven’t changed. While scientific inquiry models are valuable, they must be understood for both their limitations and advantages. According to Science for All Americans (1991), scientific inquiry is not simply labelled separately from the setting of specific investigations. There is no static set of stages that scientists always follow, no one trail that pointers them accurately to scientific knowledge. It is a multilayered action that contains many skills and a healthy measure of originality. Scientific investigation is a complex activity that requires a wide range of abilities as well as a good dose of imagination. Scientists value observation, question posing, and other abilities, but they do not occur in any particular order throughout an inquiry. The reasoning required to acquire data and create and test a hypothesis is more essential than any specific technique, and reasoning is also where creativity comes into play. Harris (2021) develops a four-step manual named the scientific method (Fig. 1.4). The four steps of the scientific method are mentioned below. Step 1: Observations and Questions: Observe anything in the natural world and pose a query about how it functions. The scientist’s speciality is generally the section of the natural world that is seen and researched. Step 2: Hypothesis: Make an informed assumption (hypothesis) to try to answer the question. A testable statement is a good hypothesis. Step 3: Experiment: Create and conduct an experiment that can be used to test the hypothesis. To put it another way, the experiment must be set up to generate findings that either support (prove) or refute the hypothesis. Fig. 1.3 A model of scientific inquiry. Source Adapted from American Geosciences Foundation (2014)

Make observation

Recognise and state a problem

Design an experiment -Hypothesis -Predict

Test of new conclusion Interpret results Draw new conclusions

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Observation Question Hyposthesis (tentative testable explanantion)

Accept/Reject Controlled expereiment

Independent variable Control setup Standardized variables Depandant variable

Experimental setup

Results Conclusions

Fig. 1.4 Steps of the scientific method. Source Adapted from Harris (2021)

Step 4: Analyse Results and State Conclusions: Accept the hypothesis as probably true if the results are compatible with the hypothesis, or reject it if the outcomes are inconsistent with the hypothesis. Even if the data do support the hypothesis, it is not proven to be true. This is because the experimental outcome might have alternative interpretations than the hypothesis.

References American Geosciences Foundation (2014). EarthComm professional development program–key concepts of EarthComm. Retrieved from http://www.americangeosciences.org/education/pd/ear thcomm/resources/concepts Cartwright, N. (1983). How the laws of Physics lie. Oxford University Press. Cartwright, N. (1988). The truth doesn’t explain much. In E. D. Klemke, R. Hollinger, & D. Kline (eds), Introductory readings in the philosophy of science. Buffalo, Prometheus Books. Conburn, A. (2000). An Inquiry Primer. Science Scope, 23(6), 42–49. Dewey, J. (1938). Logic: The theory of inquiry. Heath & Co. English Forum (2014). What is the difference between ‘inquiry’ and ‘enquiry’. Retrieved from http://www.englishforums.com/English/...Inquire/zgxlk/post.htm.

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Hanauer, D., Hatful, G. F., & Jacobs-Sera, D. (2009). Active assessment: Assessing scientific inquiry. Springer. Harris, W. (2021). How the scientific method works. Retrieved October 25, 2021 from https://sci ence.howstuffworks.com/innovation/scientificexperiments/scientific-method.htm Hebrank, M. (2000). Why inquiry-based teaching and learning in the middle school science classroom. Retrieved January 25, 2016 from http://www.biology.duke.edu/cibl/inquiry/why_inq uiry_in_ms.htm Hodson, D. (1996). Laboratory work as scientific method: Three decades of confusion and distortion. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 28(2), 115–135. Just Science Now (2014). Implementing inquiry. Retrieved from http://www.justsciencenow.com/ phases/index.htm. Accessed July 2014. Justice, C., Rice, J., Warry, W., Inglis, S., Miller, S., & Sammon, S. (2007). Inquiry in higher education: Reflections and directions on course design and teaching methods. Innovative Higher Education, 31(4), 201–214. Littlejohn, S. (1992). Theories of human communication. Wadsworth Publishing Company. National Research Council. (1996). National science education standards. National Academy Press. Newfoundland Labrador (2011). Grade nine- social studies curriculum guide. Newfoundland Labrador. New Los Angles Charter School (2014). Renewal petition. Charter School. Oregon Department Education (2000). Scientific inquiry. http://www.ode.state.or.us/teachlearn/sub jects/science/resources/inquiry.pdf. Popper, K. (1988). Science: Conjectures and refutations. In E. D. Klemke, R. Hollinger, & A. D. Kline (Eds.), Introductory readings on the philosophy of science. Buffalo: Prometheus Books. Prins, H., & Gordon, I. (2014). Testing hypothesis about biological invasions and Charles Darwin’s two creators rumination. In P. Herbert & I. Gordon (Eds.), Inversion biology and ecology theory insights from a continent in transformation. Cambridge University Press. Stripling, B. (2003). Inquiry-based learning. In B. Stripling & S. Hughes-Hassell (Eds.), Curriculum connections through the library. Libraries Unlimited. TechThought (2014). 20 Questions to guide inquiry-based learning. Retrieved from http://www.tea chthought.com/learning/20-questions-guide-inquiry-based-learning/. Wyatt, S. (2005). Extending inquiry-based learning to include original experimentation. The Journal of General Education, 54(2), 83–89.

Chapter 2

Research: Meaning and Purpose Kazi Abusaleh and Akib Bin Anwar

Abstract The objective of the chapter is to provide the conceptual framework of the research and research process and draw the importance of research in social sciences. Various books and research papers were reviewed to write the chapter. The chapter defines ‘research’ as a deliberate and systematic scientific investigation into a phenomenon to explore, analyse, and predict about the issues or circumstances, and characterizes ‘research’ as a systematic and scientific mode of inquiry, a way to testify the existing knowledge and theories, and a well-designed process to answer questions in a reliable and unbiased way. This chapter, however, categorizes research into eight types under four headings, explains six steps to carry out a research work scientifically, and finally sketches the importance of research in social sciences. Keywords Research · Research process · Social science · Systematic scientific investigation

Introduction In nature, people are curious about unknown, unexplained, and uncertain issues, e.g., why summer is hotter than winter? Why does juvenile delinquency increase due to urbanization? How migrants’ remittance contributes to the national economy of developing countries? What measures are needed to tackle or cope up with immense traffic jams in megacities and ensure road safety? To search for the answers to these issues, people are using distinct systematic methods and applying innovative techniques. Thus, people around the world have been striving to explore, analyse, and predict the unknown, uncertain and unexplained phenomena using both theoretical and analytical skills, scientific as well as non-scientific, and indigenous methods and/or sources of knowledge, e.g., customs, traditions, taboos, rituals, mythology, K. Abusaleh (B) Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1209, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] A. B. Anwar Community Mobilization Manager, Winrock International, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_2

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supernatural, etc., to get answers (Aminuzzaman, 1991). With the advance of knowledge of the scientific investigation, people have become more rational, logical, systematic, and scientific to investigate issues to get answers. Research is the systematic scientific inquiry into a phenomenon. Research is an endeavour where a systematic investigation is undertaken to discover the truth regarding the question. There are two main building blocks of research, inquisitiveness, and dissatisfaction (Ghosh, 1985). The inquisitiveness and dissatisfaction of the mind make the researcher curious and analytically passionate in dissecting the question and searching and researching the elucidation of the phenomenon. Thus, research helps to find the answers of inquisitive and dissatisfactory minds through a systematic scientific investigation. The scientific investigation is designed in a manner that is likely to answer the identified question in a reliable and unbiased way (Selltiz et al., 1976). Before inquiring into a phenomenon, however, a researcher must have prior knowledge or dive into the existing literature regarding the phenomenon, a thorough mind, and related facts and apposite modus operandi (Ghosh, 1985). There are three broad dimensions of research output, e.g., a research problem may come to light with the desire of an inquisitive mind to know the issue only; to acquire knowledge onto the issue for useful purposes, or to make a holistic intervention to generate knowledge for future use and intervention (Aminuzzaman, 1991). The world goes through a process of continuous changes. Research is carried out based on some problems or facts. With the continuous process of change, the nature of problems also changes and is presented to us with a more sophisticated appearance. In this case, the research examines the extent of the validity of old facts and conclusions, i.e., crosscheck with the findings of previous studies and thus, deduce into new facts, contexts, and generalizations about the existing one. Aminuzzaman (1991) depicts that research, however, functionally, attempts to 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Add new knowledge and generalize with old facts. Compare the old conclusions with the new data. Generalize one conclusion from the searched same set of data. Generate a new original idea or theory, or unknown horizon of knowledge. Trace out and find solutions to the existing contradictions in the study areas.

Research: A Conceptual Meaning The term ‘research’ was first recorded in 1577 and first used in 1593 (Narayana et al., 2018). The term ‘research’ originated from the Middle French ‘recherche’, the meaning of which is ‘to drive for searching’. The word ‘recherche’ itself, however, came from the Old French ‘recerchier’, meaning ‘search’. By dissecting the word ‘research’, we mainly get “re + search”, i.e., search over and over again based on changing context. From a greater sense, ‘research’ can be defined as a deliberate and repeated search for specific purposes. Different dictionaries define the term ‘research’ from different perspectives. The term ‘research’ is defined by the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2020) as the collection of data about a particular subject or careful

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investigation and/or scientific experimentation aiming at analysing and interpreting facts, modifying existing theories, models/approaches, and laws based on facts, and the application of these theories, models, and laws/policies in the practical field. The Oxford Learner’s Online Dictionaries (2020) defines research as a scientific investigation into a subject to unearth new facts or evidence about it. Research, however, can be defined as a deliberate and systematic scientific investigation into a phenomenon to explore, analyse, and predict the issue. Scholars defined the term ‘research’ from different angles. Some of the referred definitions are as follows: Referred definitions

References

“Research is a systematic investigation intended to add to Macdonald (in Polansky, 1960, p. 24) available knowledge in a form that is communicable and verifiable” “Research is a systematic process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting-data-to increase our understanding of phenomena about which we are interested or concerned”

Leedy and Ormrod (2015 p. 20)

“Research is a process step used to collect and analyze information to increase our understanding of a topic or issue. It consists of three steps: pose a question, collect data to answer questions, present an answer to the question”

Creswell (2008 p. 03)

“Research may be defined as a systematic and objective recording and analysis of controlled empirical observations that may lead to the development of principles, laws, or theories resulting in prediction and possibly ultimate control of events”

Best and Kahn (1986 p. 04)

“Research in any field seeks to generate new information Adams and Schvanevelt (1991 p. 12) or knowledge that, in turn, can be applied to solve problems, improve the quality of life, and provide a better understanding of conditions in a field” “Research is nothing but a systematic and objective Aminuzzaman (1991 p. 01) attempt to the study problem to derive general principles. The investigation is guided by consciously and scientifically collected data and information intending to add to the body of knowledge of a particular subject. Thus, any conscious attempt to study a problem systematically or any effort that aims to generate new knowledge may be regarded as research”

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Types and Characteristics of Research Research produces new knowledge or justifies existing knowledge. Researchers classify researches from different angles. Kothari (2004) divides research into four categories, e.g., descriptive vs. analytical; applied vs. fundamental; qualitative and quantitative; and conceptual vs. empirical. Kumar (2011), however, classified research (Fig. 2.1) from three broad categories, e.g., (a) applicability of research findings; (b) objectives of the study; and (c) mode of inquiry used in conducting the study. Research can be classified into two categories considering its nature and applicability, e.g., basic/pure/fundamental research and applied research. Applied research further can be categorized as action research and evaluative research. Apart from these, research can broadly be classified into five types, e.g., exploratory, explanatory, experimental, evaluative, and descriptive research. From the methodological perspective, research can be further categorized into two types, e.g., qualitative and quantitative research. Based on the above discussions, the chapter classifies research as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Basic research and applied research. Qualitative research and quantitative research. Action research and evaluative research. Exploratory research and explanatory research.

Basic and Applied Research Basic research is usually carried out to develop a new theoretical base and logical foundation of a particular discipline (Aminuzzaman, 1991). Kerlinger (1964) defines

Types of Research From the view point of Objectives

Application

Pure Research Applied Research

Descriptive Research

Exploratory Research

Correctional Research

Explanatory Research

Fig. 2.1 Types of research. Sources: Adapted from Kumar (2011)

Enquiry Mode

Qualitative Research Quantitative Research

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‘basic research as research that is carried out to test a specific theory or to investigate relations among phenomena with little or no hope of applications of research results into practical problems. Connaway and Power (2010) define basic research as the pure, scientific, or theoretical research that is carried out to generate new knowledge, and the investigation is indirectly involved with how the generated knowledge will be applied in practical, specific, or real problems. Thus, basic research aims at the generalization and formulation of new theories and principles (Kothari, 2004). Basic research helps to understand theories, universal laws, and principles with less emphasis on their immediate practical uses. On the other hand, ‘applied research’ is carried out for practical purposes, e.g., to generate findings, recommend long and short-term interventions. Applied research emphasizes solving a specific problem in real situations (Connaway and Power, 2010). This type of research is usually carried out to acquire knowledge to control natural phenomena (Polansky, 1960) and applied to find out the means how to resolute any immediate problem faced by the people of society, community, state, or organization (Kothari, 2004). For instance, applied research can be carried out on issues related to population dividends, begging, child labour, or poverty, and the purpose of the research will be to initiate programmes and policies.

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Qualitative research is carried out with the qualitative phenomena to understand human behaviour or motivations or attitude. Qualitative research is focused on the qualitative aspect that is relating to or involves quality or kind (Mishra, 2017). This type of research is carried out in the behavioural sciences to understand the motive of human behaviour, e.g., how people behave in a particular situation and why (Kothari, 2004). To understand a phenomenon, however, qualitative research looks at the whole picture rather than breaking it down into variables as its goal is to get a holistic view rather than a numeric analysis of data (Ary et al., 2010). On the contrary, quantitative research can be defined as the systematic empirical investigation of discernible phenomena via numerical, statistical, or computational techniques (Given, 2008). This type of research is based on the aspect of quantity or extent of any phenomenon (Mishra, 2017) and is carried out, for example, to measure the level of poverty, to understand the economic profile of a particular community.

Action Research and Evaluative Research Action research is a way to bring the utmost outcome of an ongoing social action or cycle of actions taken by an organization, community, or state to address a particularly problematic situation, e.g., policy, practice, and plan of action (Herr & Anderson, 2014). Greenwood and Levin (2007) define action research as a strategy that generates

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knowledge to promote the way of analysing and advancing the society and to take initiatives for democratic social action. This type of research, however, is carried out to enhance the efficacy of a programme or increase the popularity of a programme among people through awareness. On the contrary, evaluative research is a process of systematic investigation to assess the value or amount of success in achieving any pre-determined goals. Suchman (1968) describes that evaluative research includes at least four steps: (a) defining a goal, (b) defining appropriate criteria to be used in assessing success, (c) determination and describing the level of success, and (d) recommendations for further development of the programme. Adams (1975) defines evaluative research as a process to measure whether a process or event or situation is better than the other. More precisely, evaluative research is the systematic assessment of the achievement of an effort in comparison with the invested time, money, and hard work. This type of research, however, is carried out to assess the immediate, midterm, and long-term outcomes of any programmatic intervention or any implemented activities to a particular community.

Exploratory Research and Explanatory Research Exploratory research is carried out to explore an area about which too little is known to us (Kumar, 2011). Exploratory research, however, is an attempt that is made to develop an understanding and common familiarity with a phenomenon. Researchers usually carry out this type of research to satisfy their inquisitiveness and craving for enhanced understanding, testify the practicability of planned rigorous research, and explore more extensive information regarding the phenomenon (Aminuzzaman, 1991). In general, exploratory research is conducted in such a situation when a researcher does not know much about any problem or event and needs to know additional information or new and more recent information about the problem or phenomenon (Burns, 2006). On the contrary, explanatory research establishes a relationship between one or more dependent variables with one or more independent variables. Explanatory research is defined as the attempt to understand the cause and effect relationship between two phenomena, e.g., why a stressful living causes a heart attack? How is melting glaciers affecting the environment? Explanatory research is carried out to find any problem or phenomenon that was not studied in-depth before. It does not give us any conclusive evidence, instead of assisting us in understanding the problem more efficiently.

Characteristics of Research Research is characterized by a systematic investigation that is carried out to come across the solution of a problem in a reliable and unbiased way. Research not only

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produces new knowledge but also justifies existing knowledge. Best and Khan (1986 in Gebremedhin and Tweeten, 1994) summarized the characteristics of research as follows: 1. Research is carried out aiming to find solutions to a problem or the search for answers to unsolved questions. 2. Research paves the way to develop principles, laws, or theories useful in predicting future corrections. 3. Observable experience and/or empirical evidence are the basis of research. It comprises the collection of new (e.g., survey) data from primary sources and/or reviewing existing (secondary) data from verified sources. 4. Research demands valuable, precise, and genuine observation and description by using quantitative measures where possible. 5. The research strives to be objective and logical, applying appropriate tests to validate the procedures employed. In research, the researcher carefully documents references, collects data, analyses results, and reaches a conclusion. Leedy (1981) has summarized six distinct features of research which are somehow in addition to Best and Khan. Leedy’s summarized features of research are 1. As an investigative process, it originates with a question. It attempts to satisfy an unanswered question that is in the mind of a researcher. 2. Research demands a clear articulation of a goal, and a clear statement of the problem is a pre-condition of any research. 3. In its due course of an inquiry, research sub-divides the principle problem into appropriate and more manageable sub-problems. Each sub-problem seeks answers through tentative constructs called a hypothesis. These hypotheses direct the researcher to collect and examine facts. 4. The research looks for facts directed by the hypothesis and guided by the problem. The facts are collected, organized, and processed through a systematic methodological approach. 5. In its analysis, research endorses solid and measurable data and information to attempt resolving the issue that the research initiates. 6. Research, by its nature, is a circulatory process. It interprets the meaning of the facts which leads to the resolution of a problem accepting or rejecting the hypothesis and providing answers to the question which began the research cycle. Research is a scientific investigation into a phenomenon aiming to find out the ins and outs of the phenomena and solutions. Research, according to our understanding, has the following characteristics: 1. The research follows a systematic and scientific process to investigate a phenomenon. 2. Research is designed in such a manner that is likely to answer a question in an unbiased and in a reliable way. 3. Research either produces new knowledge and theory questioning the old one or provides new facts about the existing one.

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4. Research scientifically address a problem to find out the solutions. 5. Research is usually carried out based on some tentative assumptions or hypotheses that are put to be tested throughout research. 6. The findings of the research may answer the questions either quantitatively or qualitatively or through a mixed-method approach (both qualitative and quantitative).

Research Process Research is carried out following some specific systemic scientific steps. Ghosh, (1985), however, summarized several related steps, e.g., formulation of the problem concerning the purpose and objective of the study, description of research design, the methods of data collection, findings of the study, and policy implications and the conclusions. On the other hand, Adams and Schvaneveldt (1991) mentioned seven steps of research, e.g., (1) a statement of the problem, (2) a reduction or refinement of the problem occurs, (3) research design is formulated and mapped out for use, (4) ways to obtain relevant data are developed, tested, and made ready for use, (5) collection of data following research rules, (6) the data are analysed, and results are interpreted, and (7) the findings are typically written in a report. However, Bhattacherjee (2012) explained the process of research from three broader perspectives, e.g., explorative, research design, and research execution (Fig. 2.2). The chapter, however, defines six steps of the research process as follows: 1. Identification of a research problem A study is taken in hand when a researcher faces difficulties or challenges or dissatisfactions in his/her mind. Researchers usually become curious to carry out research when they find gaps in existing knowledge, envisage countering the contradictory findings of previous research, and/or think of generating new knowledge and theory explaining the unexplained issues. Hence, the very first work of a researcher is to find a research problem before searching the solution scientifically. Though it seems too easy to define a research problem, the summed up experience of scientists shows that it is more difficult to find and determine an appropriate research problem than to solve it. Hence, it is not logical to identify a problem sub-consciously. Identified research problems must be practical in the eye of theory and application. The identified problem must pose a realization in mind that there is a gap in knowledge in the existing literature. It is expected that the identified problem will be precise and investigable and measurable in a scientific manner. To deal with the identified problem, a researcher must go through the existing literature to acquire in-depth knowledge and determine the practicability of research. 2. Review of relevant literature and theories Literature review paves the way to have deep insights and clear perspectives of the identified research project, and it beholds significant importance in the research

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Exploration

Research Design

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Research Question

Literature Review

Theory

Operationalization

Research Method

Sampling Strategy

Pilot testing

Research Execution

Data collection Data analysis

Research Report

Research Proposal

Fig. 2.2 Steps of research. Source: Adapted from Bhattacherjee (2012)

field. A literature review involves searching, reading, and assessing research reports as well as casual observation and opinion reports that are pertinent to the planned research project of the researcher (Borg & Gall, 1963). A literature review helps to reduce the research work to a manageable size. Pertinent literature includes books, journal articles, working papers, review articles, periodicals, and so on. A literature review is done with threefold purposes, e.g., to enquire into the current status of available knowledge regarding the research area; to identify the main articles and their authors, theories and their proponents, and existing findings; and to identify the gaps in knowledge (Bhattacherjee, 2012). Literature review, however, serves the same purpose as a road map of a travel guide for an excursion and provides base information to research in an organized manner (Adams & Schvaneveldt, 1985). There are seven stages of literature review as explained by Adams and Schvaneveldt (1991), e.g., consulting with writers, researchers, academicians, and colleagues and friends to get a long list of books, journal articles, periodicals, and so on as they are great documentation resources; secondly, collecting information about the locations of libraries where these resources will be found; thirdly, tracking down references and locating essential literature; fourthly, going through the identified materials in an illustrative way and take notes; fifthly, re-reading the taken notes and reshuffle literature; sixthly, writing down the first draft of literature review through editing and polishing from the taken notes; and finally, finalizing the reviewed literature with cited references.

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3. Formulation of research design Upon having a rigorous literature review, the researcher needs to develop a research design. A study design is the blueprint of research that involves the researcher’s plan about the research procedures, sampling, data collection methods and techniques, and guides the researcher to research on time without the waste of resources. Research design includes justified research methods, data collection tools, research locations, sampling, operational definitions, and research ethics. In this stage, the researcher decides what research methods he/she will apply in his research to explore and get the research questions’ answers. Research methods may either be qualitative, e.g., case research or action research or ethnographic research; or quantitative research, e.g., survey research or experiments. After defining research methods, the researcher needs to define the tools of data collection, e.g., if the survey, whether data will be collected through face-to-face interviews of respondents by using structured or semistructured survey questionnaire, or mail survey or telephone survey or web survey, and if case research or ethnographic research, data whether will be collected through face-to-face interview or telephone interview using the checklist. The researcher must also define the research population and area/locations to carry out the research scientifically, e.g., in what locations the study will be carried out, whether only male or female will be interviewed or the both; how many people will be interviewed; how those areas and respondents will be chosen, and what will be the sampling strategy, e.g., whether probability sampling or non-probability sampling strategy will be chosen. In this stage, the researcher also needs to identify the ethical guidelines he/she will follow to ensure his/her research’s validity and reliability. 4. Development of questionnaire and execution of field research Based on the overall knowledge gained through the journey of the research and reviewing the literature, at this stage, the researcher will need to develop a questionnaire and/or a checklist/checklists that will answer the research objectives. Upon the development of the questionnaire and/or checklists, the first and foremost duty of the researcher will be to test the applicability of the questionnaire. This can be done through various processes, e.g., loud test, experts’ review, pilot test, etc. Usually, researchers prefer pilot testing which refers to conducting a shorter version of a full-length study that is carried out to justify the feasibility of the questionnaire. The questionnaire is modified and upgraded once the pilot study is done successfully. At this stage, the researcher directly goes to the fields, or orients data collectors on the final questionnaire and sends them to the specified field to collect data. To ensure the reliability of the collected data, researchers very often check and monitor the data collection process in a systematic way in the field. 5. Analysis of collected data and results interpretation Heaps of collected data are useless unless the collected data are organized and analysed systematically to produce answers to the research question. Analysis means categorizing, ordering, manipulating, and summarizing data to find the answer to the problem (Kerlinger, 1964). The objective of analysing data is to summarize the

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collected data and observations in such a manner that yields the answer to the research question. Data collected from the field may be either qualitative or quantitative or a mixed approach of qualitative and quantitative based on the research design. Based on the research design, the analysis and interpretation of data will be either qualitative (e.g., coding or content analysis) or quantitative (e.g., application of statistical analysis, for example, use of statistical package for social sciences for correlation or regression analysis) or both. 6. Preparation of research report and policy implication The final phase of the research work is to prepare the research report. The research report covers the entire research process, including proposal, methods followed in carrying out the research, ethical guidelines followed in carrying out the research, and presentation of findings of the investigation. The final task of the research report is to provide some guidelines answering the question of research or draw a conclusion assessing the derived inferences are either scientifically acceptable or not.

Importance of Research in Social Sciences Social science is a broad category of academic discipline that is concerned with society and human relationships. The principal subject areas of social sciences are sociology, social work, political science, psychology, economics, development studies, anthropology, history, and archaeology. Social science research, however, entails investigating all aspects of human activity and interactivity (Black, 1993). Empirical social science research involves the collection of data about people and their social contexts drawing inferences from these disciplines (Somekh & Lewin, 2004), e.g., broad categories of societal relations are studied under sociology, human behaviour under psychology, interpretation of cultures under anthropology, local and international politics and political psychology under political science, and a broad range of social problems and welfare activities under social work. Social science researchers are known as modern social engineers. Social scientists, through different action and operation research, develop a kind of sound knowledge base. Research in social sciences involves designing and developing different models, approaches, tools and techniques, and theories and procedures in analysing the web hub of society, and human inter-relationships and complexities (Aminuzzaman, 1991). Besides, social science research helps to understand social cohesion and has realistic inferences on formal and informal types of leadership, prototypes of behaviour, and reorganization in different spheres of society. In addition, social science research gives us numerous types of information that influence the economic and social well-being of aggregated individuals. In the agricultural field, for instance, management information derived from applied economic research includes ability, configuration, and processing locations of plants; efficient use of input materials, e.g., resources, lands, and fertilizers; the growth and use of innovative marketing

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mechanisms, i.e., choices, threats, and possibilities; and the incorporation of new information and technology, and so on (Smith, 1998). Data and systematic information are the most essential prerequisite materials to make any plan or policy, whether it is within the organizational level or at the state level. Social science research portrays a comprehensive picture and agglomerates a broad range of data on the socioeconomic conditions and people’s demands at the local as well as national level. By providing aggregated data, social science research helps a nation to formulate specific development goals, plan, policy, and strategy in one hand and capacitate them to attain set development goals, e.g., Sustainable Development Goals, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, and sector-wise goals through using limited resources more efficiently on the other. Hence, in some cases, social science research is commissioned by the state and run by government offices. The Planning Ministry of Bangladesh, for instance, has a large research wing named Social Science Research Council (SSRC), and every year, they circulate and allot a good amount of money for research purposes. To an extent, social science research addresses the operational effectiveness of government organizations and helps to renovate innovative methods to ensure productivity within those agencies (Smith, 1998). One of the primary functions of social science research is to find the relationships between two or more variables to predict the future (Aminuzzaman, 1991). Modern researchers use both qualitative as well as quantitative methods and analyse existing literature containing data, numerical as well qualitative, to find the inter-relationships of variables (Black, 1993). Thus, they examine present dynamics and predict the future trend and movement of an issue. Research in social sciences, to conclude, bears great importance as it helps to understand human behaviour, produce new knowledge and theories to understand social dynamics, aggregate data analysing social circumstances and contribute to initiating plan and policy, and predict future trends and movements of circumstances.

Conclusions From immemorial time, people are always inherently curious to know about unknown, unexplained, and unpredictable issues. The unsatisfactory mind of people made them curious to search and research into these unknown, unexplained, and uncertain issues through both scientific as well as non-scientific means. Research, however, has introduced a systematic and scientific approach to investigate, analyse, and scientifically predict these issues. It does not merely produce quantitative data, but also analyse human behaviour through a qualitative approach and thus pave a new direction and insight into the existing dilemmas. Research is carried out either to produce new knowledge and develop theory, to test existing knowledge and theory, or to find the solution to an identified problem. To do so, the researcher follows a specific scientific approach very strictly to produce reliable and unbiased results from the very beginning of a research project to the very end, e.g., identification of a problem,

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review of pertinent literature, development of research proposal, carrying out field research, analysis of data, and reporting. Thus, the overall finding of research will help to generate new knowledge, testifying theory, and/or adding facts to formulate policy and plan, and understanding future trends and movements of circumstances made through predictions.

References Adams, G. R., & Schvaneveldt, J. D. (1991). Understanding research methods. Addison-Wesley Longman Ltd. Adams, G., & Schvaneveldt, J. (1985). Obtaining Data: Questionnaire and Interview. Understanding research methods (pp. 199–229). Longman. Adams, S. (1975). Evaluative research in corrections: A practical guide. US Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. Aminuzzaman, S. M. (1991). Introduction to social research. Bangladesh publishers. Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., & Sorensen, C. K. (2010). Introduction to research in education (8th ed.). Wardsworth. Best, J. W., & Kahn, J. V. (1986). Research in education (5th ed.). Prentice Hall. Bhattacherjee, A. (2012). Social science research: Principles, methods, and practices. University of South Florida. Black, T. R. (1993). Evaluating social science research: An introduction. Sage. Borg, W. R., & Gall, M. D. (1963). Educational research: An introduction. David McKay Company. Burns, A. C. (2006). Marketing research. Pearson Education. Connaway, L. S., & Powell, R. R. (2010). Basic research methods for librarians. ABC-CLIO. Cresswell, J. W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting and evaluating qualitative and quantitative research (4th ed.). Merrill & Prentice Hall. Gebremedhin, T. G., & Tweeten, L. G. (1994). Research methods and communication in the social sciences. ABC-CLIO. Ghosh, B. N. (1985). Scientific method and social research. Stwiling Publishers/Advent Books Division. Given, L. M. (Ed.). (2008). The Sage encyclopaedia of qualitative research methods. Sage publications. Greenwood, D. J., & Levin, M. (2007). Introduction to action research: Social research for social change (2nd ed.). SAGE publications. Herr, K., & Anderson, G. L. (2014). The action research dissertation: A guide for students and faculty. Sage publications. Kerlinger, F. N. (1964). Foundation behavioural approach. Rinehart & Winston. Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Age International (P) Limited Publishers. Kumar, R. (2011). Selecting a method of data collection’. Research methodology: a step by step guide for beginners (3rd ed.). Sage. Leedy, P. D. (1981). How to read research and understand it. Macmillan. Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2015). Practical research: planning and design (11th ed.). Global Edition. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2020). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved April 25, 2020 from www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/research Mishra, D. S. (2017). Handbook of research methodology: A Compendium for scholars & researchers. Educreation Publishing.

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Narayana, P. S., Varalakshmi, D., Pullaiah, T., & Rao, K. S. (2018). Research methodology in Zoology. Scientific Publishers. Oxford Learner’s Online Dictionaries (2020). Oxford University Press. Retrieved April 25, 2020 from www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/research_1?q=research Polansky, N. A. (Ed.). (1960). Social work research: methods for the helping professions. University of Chicago Press. Selltiz, C., Wrightsman, L. S., & Cook, S. W. (1976). Research methods in social relations. Holt. Smith, V. H. (1998). Measuring the benefits of social science research (Vol. 2, pp. 01–21). International Food Policy Research Institute. Somekh, B., & Lewin, C. (2004). Research Methods in the Social Sciences. Sage Publications. Suchman, E. (1968). Evaluative Research: Principles and Practice in Public Service and Social Action Programs. Russell Sage Foundation.

Chapter 3

Social Research: Definitions, Types, Nature, and Characteristics Kanamik Kani Khan and Md. Mohsin Reza

Abstract Social research is often defined as a study of mankind that helps to identify the relations between social life and social systems. This kind of research usually creates new knowledge and theories or tests and verifies existing theories. However, social research is a broad spectrum that requires a discursive understanding of its varied nature and definitions. This chapter aims to explain the multifarious definitions of social research given by different scholars. The information used in this chapter is solely based on existing literature regarding social research. There are various stages discussed regarding how social research can be effectively conducted. The types and characteristics of social research are further analysed in this chapter. Social research plays a substantial role in investigating knowledge and theories relevant to social problems. Additionally, social research is important for its contribution to national and international policymaking, which explains the importance of social research. Keywords Research · Social research · Human and social behaviour · Knowledge and theories

Introduction This chapter mainly focuses on social research. The definitions of social research are multifarious, and different scholars define social research from different perspectives. Major definitions of social research are discussed in this chapter. A research process for conducting social research is also explained to describe how social research can be effectively conducted. Different types of social research are then explained, such as basic research, applied research, descriptive research, exploratory research, explanatory research, longitudinal research, causal research, comparative research, action

K. K. Khan (B) School of Health and Social Care, University of Essex, Colchester, England e-mail: [email protected] Md. Mohsin Reza Department of Social Work, Jagannath University, Dhaka 1100, Bangladesh © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_3

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research classification research, action research, participatory action research, evaluation research, feminist research, and theory-testing and theory-building research. Furthermore, different features and characteristics of social research are discussed to deepen the understanding of the multifaceted nature of social research. The role of social research is also explained to understand its importance in investigating theories and knowledge as well as designing policies and guidelines.

Definitions of Social Research Research is a systematic process of seeking new knowledge to generate new insights, revise accepted laws or theories, and create new theories and practices. In general terms, social research is a scientific investigation related to social aspects. The main scope of this investigation is the social perspective that includes human behaviour, cultures, norms and values, and human welfare and services. According to the Dictionary.cambridge (n.d.), research is “a detailed study of a subject, especially to discover (new) information or reach a (new) understanding”. Social research is an organized, systematic, and scientific activity to critically investigate, explore, experiment, test, and analyse human society and the patterns and meanings of human behaviour (Henn et al., 2009). May (2011) discusses that most social research is conducted after identifying a problem that is regarded as a concern for society. In essence, social research attempts to discover something new about the world by studying how a social system works (Neuman & Robson, 2018). Some authors and institutions define social research from different points of view. Table 3.1 provides several popular definitions of social research. There are some limitations to these definitions. Despite social change and development, social research also focuses on social reform, and it is not always associated with an organization because social research can also be conducted voluntarily or for an academic purpose. Social research investigates theories not only relating to human behaviour but also feelings and emotions. The insights of the social world do not help unless we can assess how personal relationships work. In this chapter, we define social research as associated with social change, development, and reform, and conducted by an organization or individual to study personal relationships, human behaviour, and social systems and to find out the factors that work behind these. Neuman and Robson (2018) explain some of the major steps of conducting social research, such as topic selection, focusing on a question, designing the study, collecting information, analysing data, interpreting the information, and research dissemination. In terms of steps discussed by Neuman and Robson (2018), we can see a general pattern of a research process as shown in Fig. 3.1. Social research begins with the identification of a problem that is worth investigating. After identifying a research problem, we can decide on the topic of the research. A good research topic needs to be important, relevant, thought-provoking, timely, and evocative (Tracy, 2010). Then, we need to review the existing literature to find any gaps in knowledge to justify why this research is important. After a

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Table 3.1 Definitions of social research Author(s) and year

Definitions

Barker (2013)

It is a systematic investigation, using the principles of the scientific method to test hypotheses, acquire information, and solve problems on human interrelationships

Bryman (2016)

Social research is motivated by changes in society and employs scientific ideas to illuminate those changes to demonstrate a scientific interpretation of social change and development

Carroll (2004)

It can contribute to human emancipation, help enlighten and empower people so that they can become active masters of their own lives

Hall (2008)

It deals with ‘real-world’ issues and problems that are identified by governments or other organisations such as businesses or charities that have a direct interest in the research outcomes

Henn et al. (2009)

Social research either tests the appropriateness of existing theories which seek to account for the behaviour we are interested in, develops new insights or constructs new theories to help build up our understanding of the process behind this behaviour

Kalof et al. (2008)

It can provide valuable insights into how people are feeling and what they are doing at a particular time in a particular society

May (2011)

Social research delves into the constant relationship between social theory and social issues in which both are modified through combinations of reflection, experience, and systematic investigation

Neuman and Robson (2018)

It is a process in which researchers combine a set of principles, outlooks, and ideas with a collection of specific practices, techniques, and strategies to produce new knowledge. Social research is conducted to learn something new about the world, or carefully document expectations or beliefs, or refine their understandings of how the social world works

Penz (2006)

Social research is an objective analysis and recording of controlled observations that can help to develop new principles, generalizations, and theories relevant to important incidents in society

Sarantakos (2013)

It is a mode of investigation that allows the researcher to examine a social problem to find out its causes and potential solutions

sufficient literature review, we can formulate the main research purpose or aim that will determine the main research question. We can then design the research with proper research methods and research methodology before collecting the data. After data collection, data analysis and interpretations are important so that we can report, evaluate, and argue the research findings by a thesis or research publication.

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Identifying a research problem Reporting and evaluating Research

Analysing and interpreting data

Collecting data

Reviewing literature

Specifying purpose of the research

Designing the research

Fig. 3.1 Research process. Adapted from Neuman and Robson (2018)

Types of Social Research Social research is a diverse and pluralistic process. In terms of methods, it is categorized into two types: qualitative approach and quantitative approach. Nevertheless, the most popular kinds of social research are discussed below.

Basic Research Basic research is also commonly known as pure research. Saunders et al. (2019) describe that basic research is useful because the findings provide significance and value to society. According to Sarantakos (2013), basic research is conducted to discover new concepts and knowledge that improve the scientific understanding of the world. Neuman and Robson (2018) emphasize that basic research is mostly conducted when a completely new issue or aspect causes a problem in society.

Applied Research Sarantakos (2013) describes that applied social research is mostly conducted with a problem-solving approach for a particular social problem. It aims to investigate

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existing knowledge and problems rather than to formulate new knowledge or theory. Neuman and Robson (2018) imply that most problems in our society arise from particular causes or factors, and applied research is a useful way to investigate these problems in terms of causal factors and the consequences for society. According to Saunders et al. (2019), applied research can improve our understanding of a particular problem and discover a solution to the problem. Thus, applied research has practical relevance and value to an organization or authority as well as society. But one of the major disadvantages of employing applied research is to have a tight time scale for conducting the research (Neuman & Robson, 2018). According to Henn et al. (2009), applied research is mostly conducted to provide information about which initiatives or policies can be most significantly implemented to solve everyday problems.

Descriptive Research Descriptive research allows a researcher to study societal systems and the relations among people who live in a society (Sarantakos, 2013). According to Robson (2011), descriptive research is applied to provide an accurate profile rather than evaluate an individual, event, or situation. One example of descriptive research is the Domesday Book which describes the population of England in 1085 (Saunders et al., 2019). Society consists of different groups of people with particular social systems, events, and relations. A researcher conducts a descriptive study to understand how these social systems, events, and relationships are connected. Neuman and Robson (2018) explain that before gathering data, it is important for the researcher to have a transparent understanding of the problem they plan to investigate.

Exploratory Research If a researcher is not sure about the exact nature of the problem, then exploratory research can help to clarify or understand that problem (Saunders et al., 2019). Exploratory research is designed to explore a phenomenon, select themes, or identify an instrument that can be subsequently tested (Creswell, 2018). Robson (2011) explains that an exploratory study is an important mode of finding out what is happening in social life. This kind of study seeks new insights and knowledge, asks questions, and assesses phenomena in a new light (Neuman & Robson, 2018; Robson, 2011). Sarantakos (2013) clarifies that exploratory research is conducted to find out the reasons or factors behind certain events in society. The major purpose of this type of social research is to establish the most basic criteria of the research issue, often before a larger study commences.

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Explanatory Research (or Relational Research) According to Sarantakos (2013), explanatory research aims to examine and explain social relations or events, problems, or issues in society that need to be elaborated with a cause-effect relationship. This type of social research is similar to descriptive research, but it focuses more on explaining the causal relationship between variables to explore the causes and effects of societal relations and events. Explanatory research is conducted to explain the association and correlation between or among different variables (Creswell, 2018; Neuman & Robson, 2018; Saunders et al., 2019).

Causal Research Saunders et al. (2019) explain that causal research is similar to explanatory research because it has a similar intention—to explain the cause and effect relationship between variables. Weller (2015) mentions that while conducting social research, often we need to establish a tentative hypothesis with two or more variables, and it is very important to explain the causal relationship between these variables to understand how changes in social events or impacts are happening. For example, we can examine how the effect of renewable energies impacts socioeconomic development in rural areas. Causal research in this situation helps to measure the degree of socioeconomic changes that are caused by the use of renewable energies.

Longitudinal Research Longitudinal research is conducted to study a social issue at different periods to understand the changes in a particular social event or problem (Neuman & Robson, 2018). Longitudinal research assesses and measures changes and developments in a society, on more than one occasion and over a certain period, such as population trends, or changes in a group or portion of a population (Creswell, 2018; Sarantakos, 2013; Saunders et al., 2019). The researcher may choose the same or different samples while studying the social issue more than once. This type of social research can provide a useful understanding of a social issue by examining different periods.

Comparative Research Comparative research is conducted to understand the impact of a social event from various perspectives. This type of social research is important to discover similarities or differences between two or more research units, usually by comparing comparable

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data obtained from two or more study sites. A researcher can identify the impact of a social problem, or a new policy, by comparing the findings of two or more study areas (Sarantakos, 2013). Saunders et al. (2019) explain that comparative research is useful to analyse research questions and objectives that require local, national, or international comparisons. Creswell (2018) notes that a comparative study may be an aspect of grounded theory, where data can be collected and categorized to identify major themes.

Classification Research According to Sarantakos (2013), classification research is useful to classify research units into more than one group to explain differences among the research units. Saunders et al. (2019) mention classification may be a part of coding categorical data, and in this case, it has some benefits, such as saving time and identifying core constructs by comparing classification results with other researchers. It is also used to clarify social events and demonstrate the relationships between two or more research units.

Action Research Action research was first employed by Lewin in 1948 (Adelman, 1993). Action research is more focused on documenting activities associated with the research problem rather than measurement (Coghlan, 2019; Saunders et al., 2019). Robson (2011) explains that the action research spiral begins within a particular context and has a transparent objective to diagnose, plan actions, or evaluate a certain problem. Burns (2007) discusses that action research can discover facts and solutions to solve a social problem in society, and it may involve the cooperation and collaboration of researchers, practitioners, and ordinary citizens (cited in Sarantakos, 2013).

Participatory Action Research Participatory action research (PAR) is an inquiry about a community, an organization or a corporation, or an industry (Kemmis & McTaggart, 2005). Whyte (1991) delineates that participatory action research is conducted by involving members of the public as direct participants in the research (cited in Sarantakos, 2013). This type of social research aims to ensure the participation and involvement of the people being researched in the research procedures to gather and analyse in-depth findings. PAR focuses on individuals and also on the community as a whole (Creswell, 2018).

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PAR has an orientation to society and community that emphasizes their contribution to changes or emancipation in society.

Evaluation Research Evaluation research is used to study and understand the impacts or effects of national or local social policies or organizational policies (Bryman, 2016; Sarantakos, 2013). An evaluation of a situation can assess the effectiveness of a programme or approach and make recommendations so that it can be more effective (Saunders et al., 2019). Evaluation research not only helps to investigate the impact of programmes or policies but aims to find out limitations to improve the quality of the programmes or policies in the future.

Feminist Research Feminist studies examine issues relating to women’s development, gender equity, and women’s empowerment. Sarantakos (2013) explains that the life of women is investigated by feminist research by employing various research paradigms. According to Creswell (2018), feminist ethnography is a study of women and the cultural practices that serves to identify matters that deprive or oppress them.

Theory-Testing and Theory-Building Research Theory-testing research is employed to understand the validity and appropriateness of relevant theories that researchers use. In the context of social research, Sarantakos (2013) describes that theory testing is a systematic process of examining, verifying, or correcting an existing theory relating to a social issue or problem. The author also urges that theory-building research is focused on formulating new theories to introduce new knowledge to the world. It not only examines old theories but also aims to build new theories by studying particular social events or issues.

Nature and Characteristics of Social Research Research methodologies are always a concern for novice researchers as they set out to examine a problem with a very narrow focus (Crano et al., 2014; Golovushkina & Milligan, 2012). Durkheim was one of the first scholars to develop specific social research approaches in his short introduction to The Rules of Sociological Method,

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published in 1895. Durkheim aimed to advance beyond vague generalities of the nature of societies and investigate the relations between social and biological realms as a general march of progress (Crothers & Platt, 2010; Neuman & Robson, 2018; Sarantakos, 2013). Social research methodologies were further developed following World War II. In India, universities started to teach research methods to social science students during the 1970s (Henn et al., 2009; Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2006; Sarantakos, 2013). Crothers and Platt (2010) explain that social research is connected with social life, but it is not ‘pure’ research in the same way as physical sciences. Social research aims to investigate facts about social life, social realities, and social phenomena and introduce explanatory theories through systematic and controlled observation of the real world (Green & Gutmann, 2007; Henn et al., 2009; May, 2011; Sarantakos, 2013). According to Babin and Svensson (2012), social research may provide remedial measures for social problems. Social research has a wide range of applications including social planning, social policy, social change, and social development (Bryman, 2016). Providing truthful and reliable knowledge is the ultimate goal of social research (Neuman & Robson, 2018), but unlike physical sciences, social research seldom provides an exact answer. Social research is broad and versatile. It has its special nature and practice. Different disciplines may engage in social research either alone or in an interdisciplinary study (Neuman & Robson, 2018). It can be employed in many fields, but theories on the same topic may conflict in different fields of study (Bryman, 2016). Social and business researches are similar in that both study human behaviours (Neuman & Robson, 2018). But Saunders et al. (2019) explain that business research is different because it focuses on creating a profit for an organization, whereas social research provides benefits for society. Medical science also studies the feelings, emotions, motivations, or psychological status of people, but it differs because of its technologies. Social research is based on empirical evidence or observable experience. It provides an opportunity to observe and describe social phenomena accurately within a real-life context (Gupta, 2012; Henn et al., 2009). Social scientists can anticipate future occurrences of social events by producing appropriate generalizations, principles, and theories of social events (Ragin & Amoroso, 2019). Babin and Svensson (2012) mention that social research is useful to investigate the cause and effect relationship between social problems and discover potential solutions. Bryman (2016) explains that social research aims to find out how to solve a social problem by investigating the factors and causes of the problem. In addition to this, social research can help to study factors that may influence human behaviour (Correa & Larrinaga, 2015). Social research involves a process of ensuring effective data collection, reporting, and presentation of the methodology, data, and findings. Social researchers can choose from different methods and techniques for their studies. Social research is not only based on primary data, but secondary data are also useful. According to Bernard (2013), social research is a systematic approach because all the steps or stages of research are well organized by the researcher. Corbetta (2011) states that a

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researcher must have sufficient knowledge about the research problem and critically assess how others have studied it previously. To do this, a researcher uses existing literature to formulate a study and analyse the primary findings, and they usually aim to collect data from primary sources for the new study (De Vaus, 2013). To employ research methodologies effectively, social researchers need sufficient expertise in the techniques they are planning to do, as well as good time management and a capacity to organize and integrate theories and findings. The findings of social research are dependent on how well the data are recorded, reported, and interpreted (Sarantakos, 2013). Sarantakos (2013) further explains that conducting social research may take time, and researchers may sometimes face discouraging and disappointing results. So, it is necessary to have patience and calmness to get a result that answers the research questions. There are some more characteristics of social research that help to understand the quality of a study. May (2011) states that objectivity is a prominent characteristic of social research. Carroll (2004) supports that the researcher needs to be free from any kind of bias, prejudice, personal feelings, or emotion while conducting research. Social research needs to maintain the attribute of verifiability. Green and Gutmann (2007) propose that the truth of knowledge is the primary pillar of social research. Hence, the reliability and validity of the methodology and the data are important to make sure that the collected data are consistent, reliable, and valid. Adcock and Collier (2001) explain that if a researcher operationalizes concepts properly, then these concepts can be measured to produce research findings. Kalof et al. (2008) state that data need to be verifiable and testable for interpretation, and Walliman (2016) describes that the accuracy and precision of the data interpretation are an important aspect of social research by presenting evidence based on facts. Finally, the findings of the study need to be original, and social research should be free from duplicity and imitation.

Importance of Social Research Social research plays a significant role in evaluating social problems and their impacts on society. Concepts of society, culture, the generation gap, and social distance are also standardized through social research. Sarantakos (2013) discusses that social research gathers knowledge about social phenomena, problems, events, and issues, documents situations, and provides reliable and valid information regarding social life. The fundamental benefits of social research are to study and predict human behaviour (Jie et al., 2008), develop and test theories, and suggest feasible measures to reduce social problems. The outcome of a social research study might be to liberate or empower people who are disadvantaged in some way, or for policymakers to seek to provide solutions for individual or societal problems (Neuman & Robson, 2018). Social research investigates different aspects of social problems to understand their connections and causal relationships (Kumar, 2002). For example, formal and informal educational programmes can help if illiteracy is a problem in society,

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and social research can help to find out which kinds of educational programmes might be most suitable to increase the literacy rate. Thus, the causal relationship between literacy and educational programmes and the degree of change in educational programmes can be evaluated. According to Henn et al. (2009), social research is an experiment of understanding why human behaviour changes. For example, to understand juvenile crime, social scientists would investigate why young people commit a crime. Thus, social research is a process of examining human behaviour and the relationships between individuals, or among groups, cultures, and organizations (Henn et al., 2009). Social groups, institutions, and ethics may be investigated in different situations to add knowledge of the social environment (Bryman, 2016). Critical social research may aim to uncover the fundamental nature of social reality (Henn et al., 2009) to make some future action possible, such as a policy change or further research. Social research may be used to develop social policy and evaluate or critique programmes, practices, social changes, and reforms. Bryman (2016) delineates that social research ought to aim to seek ways to change or improve society. He argues that social change and development are two interrelated concepts that can be influenced by the outcomes of social research. For example, social research can investigate and find the causes of decreasing education quality in a country. According to May (2011), social research has political goals, and its importance lies within a political system of a nation. For example, the impact of social research can create a way to challenge racial prejudice, campaign for the emancipation of women, or fight for the removal of gender inequalities (Henn et al., 2009). Social research may be used to educate and inform the population of a country and support political plans and policies (Sarantakos, 2013). In practical life, social research has great importance to manage organizations effectively, decrease social conflicts and tensions, and develop plans for revival.

Conclusions Social research can create a comprehensive understanding of the nature of social life. It is a systematic approach to critical investigation and a process of critical reasoning that allows a researcher to analyse a social phenomenon from different perspectives. In general, social research is a collective work that investigates social problems by developing new knowledge and testing existing theories to find solutions to social issues. There are different types of research used in the social sciences. However, applied, explanatory, exploratory, and evaluation approaches are some of the more popular approaches social scientists use. A research process that consists of different stages and the nature and characteristics of social research are also discussed in this chapter. Social research is important because it helps to understand human behaviour, assists policymakers to plan for social change, increases awareness in society, and helps us to understand the causal relationship between two or more social phenomena.

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References Adcock, R., & Collier, D. (2001). Measurement validity: A shared standard for qualitative and quantitative research. American Political Science Review, 95(3), 529–548. Adelman, C. (1993). Kurt Lewin and the origins of action research. Educational Action Research, 1(1), 7–24. Babin, B. J., & Svensson, G. (2012). Structural equation modeling in social science research: Issues of validity and reliability in the research process. European Business Review, 24(4), 320–330. Barker, R. L. (Ed.). (2013). The Social Work Dictionary (6th ed.). NASW Press. Bernard, H. R. (2013). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Sage. Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods (5th ed.). Oxford University Press. Burns, D. (2007). Systemic action research: A strategy for whole system change. Policy Press. Carroll, W. K. (Ed.). (2004). Critical strategies for social research. Canadian Scholars’ Press. Coghlan, D. (2019). Doing action research in your own organization (5th ed.). Sage. Corbetta, P. (2011). Social research: Theory, methods and techniques. Sage. Correa, C., & Larrinaga, C. (2015). Engagement research in social and environmental accounting. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 6(1), 5–28. Crano, W. D., Brewer, M. B., & Lac, A. (2014). Principles and methods of social research. Routledge. Creswell, J. W. (2018). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (6th ed.). Pearson. Crothers, C., & Platt, J. (2010). The history and development of sociological social research methods. In C. Crothers (Ed.), Historical Developments and Theoretical Approaches in Sociology (Vol. 1). UK: EOLSS Publishers. De Vaus, D. (2013). Surveys in social research (6th ed.). Routledge. Dictionary.cambridge. (n.d.). Research. Retrieved 09 May 2020 from http://dictionary.cambridge. org/dictionary/english/research Golovushkina, E., & Milligan, C. (2012). Developing early stage researchers: Employability perceptions of social science doctoral candidates. International Journal for Researcher Development, 3(1), 64–78. Green, A. G., & Gutmann, M. P. (2007). Building partnerships among social science researchers, institution-based repositories and domain specific data archives. OCLC Systems & Services: International Digital Library Perspectives, 23(1), 35–53. Gupta, V. (2012). Research methodology in social science. Enkay Publication. Hall, R. (2008). Applied social research: Planning, designing and conducting real-world research. Victoria: Macmillan Education Australia. Henn, M., Weinstein, M., & Foard, N. (2009). A critical introduction to social research (2nd ed.). Sage. Hesse-Biber, S. N., & Leavy, P. L. (2006). Emergent methods in social research. Sage. Jie, Z., Xinning, S., & Sanhong, D. (2008). The academic impact of Chinese humanities and social science research. Aslib Proceedings, 60(1), 55–74. Kalof, L., Dan, A., & Dietz, T. (2008). Essentials of social research. Open University Press. Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (2005). Participatory action research: Communicative action and the public sphere. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 559–603). Sage. Kumar, A. (2002). Research methodology in social science. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons. May, T. (2011). Social research: Issues, methods and process (4th ed.). Open University Press. Neuman, W. L., & Robson, K. (2018). Basics of social research: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (4th ed.). Pearson Canada Inc. Penz, E. (2006). Researching the socio-cultural context: Putting social representations theory into action. International Marketing Review, 23(4), 418–437. Ragin, C. C., & Amoroso, L. M. (2019). Constructing social research: The unity and diversity of method (3rd ed.). Sage.

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Robson, C. (2011). Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitionerresearchers (3rd ed.). Blackwell. Sarantakos, S. (2013). Social Research (4th ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. Saunders, M., Lewis, L., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research methods for business students (8th ed.). Pearson. Tracy, S. J. (2010). Qualitative quality: Eight “big-tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(10), 837–851. Walliman, N. (2016). Social research methods the essentials (2nd ed.). Sage. Weller, K. (2015). Accepting the challenges of social media research. Online Information Review, 39(3), 281–289. Whyte, W. F. (Ed.). (1991). Participatory action research. Sage.

Chapter 4

Theory in Social Research Mumtaz Ali, Maya Khemlani David, and Kuang Ching Hei

Abstract In this chapter, the importance and link between social research and theory are discussed. Social research is taken as the sociological understanding of connections—connections between action, experience, and change—and it is the major vehicle for realizing these connections. The debate on using theory in any scope of social research is being deliberated by various scholars with many emphasizing the merits of using theory in social research. They argue that an appropriate theory clarifies the findings a researcher has uncovered in the study. Without a theory, the researcher could face difficulties in streamlining the study or the researcher may overlook particular phenomena or events from within the study. Thus, the researcher would be unable to relate the variables in the study. A theorist always tries to view things from his/her perspective. Upon reflection, the theorist may develop a refined framework which then becomes the intensive framework, hereby, called a theory. This phenomenon may not necessarily be agreed upon by every social scientist as can be illustrated by cases where, after using a theory, researchers have modified such a theory to suit their outcomes. The theory used in social research supports and facilitates the researcher to raise fundamental questions and facts which could serve as the common core or body of knowledge. From the basis of given facts and explanations, it can be claimed that the theory used in social research has a pivotal role to align the study. In social research, a researcher should make the matter of selecting a theory seriously as a good theory produces a better piece of research work. This chapter elaborates on the various aspects of using theory in social research. Several diagrams are used to make explanations clear. Keywords Social research · Theory · Social process · Framework · Social sciences · Structure

M. Ali (B) Department of Sociology, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan e-mail: [email protected] M. K. David · K. C. Hei University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_4

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Introduction Research in social science is considered as a process in which people combine a set of principles, outlooks and ideas or theories with a collection of specific practices and techniques (Brown et al., 1999; 29) as Fig. 4.1 displays. For further illustration of the research process, we provide the following example. One of our postgraduate students was working on a study on social issues. As he had worked in a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) sector before, the student was keen to conduct his intended research on an NGO. However, he faced several challenges in the early stages of his research as he had no principles on which to build a concept. Reflecting on the research title, the objective and problem, a frame, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound (SMART), that provided an outlook for the study, was used. From that frame, further options became more accessible to the student. Although there were many aspects to focus on the study, the student decided, after several reflections, to focus on organizational communication for his intended research. After some planning, a pilot study was conducted. For this purpose, a questionnaire was formulated and finally administered to a few selected participants. During the pilot testing and data analysis stage of the pilot study, challenges were again noted as the student faced problems in analysing his data. This was because he was not able to pin down a good theory for data analysis. To overcome this difficulty, more theories that could be related to his pilot study were given emphasis. Finally, two theories were selected and finalized as appropriate for the pilot study. With this occurrence, the data collection tool was thus revised and another pilot study was conducted. This experience contributed to linking the data to the theory. The above example suggests that exploring and selecting a relevant theory for one’s research may be seen as an exciting process of discovery as this occurrence Fig. 4.1 The research process. Source Authors

Principles

Outlooks

Techniques Theory

Practices

Ideas

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enhances knowledge. From knowing a little, a researcher upon more discovery becomes more in-tune with his/her study. Thus, he/she becomes more confident of the work that he/she is currently conducting. However, it must be emphasized that searching and applying relevant and appropriate theories in one’s research requires persistence, personal integrity and tolerance for ambiguity, interaction, and pride in performing quality work (Bickman & Rog, 1998; Brown et al., 1999).

Definitions and Characteristics of Theory Most researchers, especially new researchers, play safe in conducting studies by searching for and applying relevant theories to their research. Theories are necessary for them because theories help them to confirm or disconfirm a certain finding, which when it occurs, enables the research to look for a revision, if necessary. Theories provide confidence to the researcher as one there is security in being systematic as the research attempts to link it with the theories. Although many people understand the need to have a theory, particularly for research, many people cannot find a standard definition for theory. Thus, theory can be defined by different people in different ways, according to the context of the study. In their paper, Tavallaei and Abu Talib claim that one of the oldest definitions of the term, theory, was described by Hempel as a complex network. Hempel mentions that a network can be seen as a system and the observations that follow the research can be considered as the floating device. Both the system and device are then guided and controlled by the rules of interpretation. Focusing on deductive theory, Burr (1973) says that a theory is that which provides the clue that helps to explain why certain things occur. It is from these clues that one then makes deductions as a result of the process which examines, tests, and eliminates such propositions. Opposing the need for formalizing a formal definition for theory, Silver (1983) says that the moment a theory exists, “its true beauty, emotional significance and importance in everyday life will be lost” cited in Tavallaei and Abu Talib. Silver (1983) defines theory as a way by which reality is perceived and then expressed as a result of clear understanding. However, the word theory is merely a concept used to refer to a particular kind of explanation. Extending on this, Leedy and Ormrod (2005, p. 4) say that a theory should be seen as a system of concepts and principles which are used by researchers to explain a particular phenomenon observed. In this regard, theories help researchers to understand the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of a particular occurrence. Going by the interpretation of Boss et al., a theory is thus, a process of systematically formulating and organizing ideas to understand what is happening. A theory can be at a hypothetical stage without strong evidence or it could have been proven with clear concrete evidence. Various authors in social research like business or business management may also shy away from using the word ‘theory’ because many among them have this general idea that what constitutes ‘theory’ is that it is a theoretical framework. Some people find this difficult because a framework sounds very rigid, suggesting that there is no room for flexibility and yet life in reality

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within any society is always so unstructured and unpredictable. Theory talks about the past but in general, a theory is applied based on decisions made while seeing the present situation or scenarios. If the support for the current research is taken from a particular theory, then it is highly possible that such a theory might not relate to the current situation because it was derived from past research or observations. Therefore, a theory can be taken as that prior knowledge that helps a researcher to understand a current phenomenon. McMillan and Schumacher declare that a theory can develop scientific knowledge through the following steps. Step 1: The theory helps to provide a simple explanation about the observed relations regarding the phenomenon. Step 2: The theory is then observed, and it helps to make connections when it seems to be consistent with what has already been found. Step 3: The theory provides a system for researchers to validate what is found and if necessary, to make final revisions. Step 4: The theory helps to stimulate further research in areas needing investigation. (Source: Tavallaei & Abu Talib, 2010, p. 572). Research in social science investigates the effects of deliberate intervention in a situation of practical importance (Bickman & Rog, 1998; Bulmer et al., 2010). To illustrate this point, an authentic example is provided. While planning on working out good research about education in a part of Pakistan, one of the researchers/writers searched for a good research site and discovered a school in a rural part of Karachi, Pakistan. He then visited the school which was established by a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) called HANDS. This school runs on financial support received from a multinational organization and a donor agency. During the process of conducting the research, it was realized that only a few students from the vicinity were attending the said school. An interview with the teachers in the school revealed that two villages exist in that locality but only children from one of those two villages were attending the said school. On being further examined, it was found that there was a conflict between the two village headmen. Due to this conflict, the children of the second village were not permitted to attend the school even though the second village does not have a school on its grounds. The researcher then approached the village headmen and enlisted the help of female mobilizers to help in convincing the women of the village to talk with their spouses on this issue. Over time, a large community meeting was organized and people from both villages attended the meeting. From the meeting, it was then agreed among the villagers that the children of both villages would attend the school. Due to this gradual interaction among children and teachers, the community members and parents also started visiting the school and began communicating with one another again. Subsequently, all the concerns of the community were resolved. At present, members of both villages are living in peace and harmony and their children continue to attend school and gain an

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education. Based on this illustration, it can be deduced that research on social issues can help to expose critical issues and thereby, also assist in resolving them.

Rules of Construction of Theory At the basic or micro-level, the process of the construction of theory takes much concentration, time and techniques. Every single aspect is related to another. However, while setting the patterns that will emerge to become the theory, a researcher/writer must be careful to ensure that there is link and coherence tied to the proper structure noted in the pattern. As mentioned above, theories provide the base or foundation for a study. In this regard, if the foundation stone of the theory was laid down wrongly, it could result in the construction of a structure that may not be able to stand on its own. Because of this need to develop a theory that is sound, solid, and relevant, it is important that researchers be coherent in their development and not resort to using lengthy and detailed frameworks to explain their theory. This is because such detailed frameworks may look impressive on presentation but in reality, may not mean much, especially, when they are also irrelevant to a particular study. To illustrate this point, another authentic example is provided. In one episode of our work, we met a person who was doing his doctoral research in the field of social sciences. He was highly intellectual, a good communicator and skilful in presenting his thoughts and ideas. He also mentioned having a very supportive supervisor who was herself an expert in the field of social issues, and in particular, women development as she was also a leading activist of women’s rights, both at the national and international level. As the intellectual individual was pursuing his doctoral research, the said supervisor guided him right from the beginning till he completed his work. At the beginning of his research, the individual was aiming to select two approaches that would be used as theories and they include: (a) Women in Development (WID) and, (b) Gender and Development (GAD). At the beginning of the proposed research, all went well but over time, the research process became complicated. This was because the intended thesis title read as ‘Feminism in Islam’ and yet the two theories selected (Women in Development and Gender and Development) did not seem to cover the religious perspective of women. Noticing the gap in these two theories, the scholar then reread his chapters to make various modifications to fit them into his two theories. However, on reflection, the scholar found that he was not doing justice to his data and analysis. Thus, he decided to select another theory that is related to Islam and women’s rights. To do this, the scholar had to approach his supervisor for guidance. When this was agreed upon, both parties had to refocus on the analysis and readjust the findings according to the additional theory. This process, undoubtedly, cost him and the supervisor much time and energy. All these had come about because of the need to have a theory to explain the outcome of one’s data extracted from research.

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This need to rely on theory seems inevitable for any researcher. Without using any theory, it would be difficult for the researcher to maintain the coherence, relationship, connection and relatedness between the research idea and other available sources of knowledge. There are, however, some researchers who try to develop a theory based on the grounded theory approach. Mark S. Granovettor, an American scholar, conducted a study on relationship management. He focused on organizational relations and found that most studies reported that organizational relations or the relations among the leaders/managers of the organizations play an important role in an organization. In conducting his research, Granovettor tried to look for a theory that he could use. After four years of his research, Granovettor realized that all the existing theories had focused on the power of relations/connections among the leaders/managers. None had focused on what he wanted to research, relationship management. Thus, he conceptualized a framework called ‘Strength of Weak Ties’ which showed that besides relations with powerful people within an organization, relations with weak people are also important. To illustrate, Granovettor argued that the driver of the Chief Executive Officer of any company can do what a manager cannot do. He suggests that a driver may not do much office work but he has more time with his head/CEO, thus knows more intimate details of his boss than anyone else. The driver knows what the CEO likes or dislikes, how his family works or runs, and therefore, the driver can be said to be the person with the most day-to-day knowledge of the CEO, making him (driver) the link to the family of his superior and his superior himself. Although Mark S. Granovettor took 13 years to complete the research, undoubtedly, the framework he developed has been discussed by various scholars. Today, the conceptual framework of ‘Strength of Weak Ties’ is accepted as an influential theory in management and social sciences. From this illustration, it can be deduced that theory in any social research is a peg, which is a powerful way to connect ideas, literature, practice, and techniques. This is portrayed in Fig. 4.2. In the context of social science, Gilbert (2005) defines research as a sociological understanding of connections—connections between action, experience, and change—and theory is the major vehicle for realizing these connections as is illustrated in Fig. 4.3. Bickman and Rog (1998) state that a researcher can get help for streamlining the study through a useful theory that supports what he/she wants to see. A researcher working in different fields such as social sciences and management science can, for instance, when conducting research, use theories from both areas of expertise/ fields of study. In a study called Role of Communication to Ensure Community Participation in NGOs, the Community Participation and Empowerment theory by Wilcox was used to discuss the variables that made up community participation. This theory was then married with another theory and both were then used to produce a communication model for NGOs. Consequently, the model named Communication, Participation, and Cooperation resulted in the theory of community empowerment. Today, some NGOs are still using this model in their work, for example, in the study looking at the NEXUS Foundation, the Karachi Rural Network, the Mehran Foundation, Educast Society and Women Action Forum, and so on.

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Fig. 4.2 Theory as a peg. Source Authors Idea

Techniques

Theory

Litrature

Practice

Fig. 4.3 Theory- the major vehicle. Source Authors

Connections Actions

Experience

Change Without the use of a theory or theories, particular pieces of the data would seem to be unconnected or irrelevant. Based on this, it can be said that the theory or theories used in social science research can provide a base/structure for a particular study and assist it to interpret how the research objectives and questions can be duly addressed.

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Figure 4.4 provides the process of conducting a study. In any particular study, an appropriate theory or conceptual/theoretical framework can be used to show others what the researcher has found while conducting the study (Mladovsky & Mossialos, 2008). While theories are generally used to describe and understand phenomena, it cannot be denied that theories also help to limit the data to be collected. Otherwise, the researcher may obtain an excess of unlinked information and data which may become difficult for interpretation. In this context, it is argued that researchers, if not given such parameters, would not be able to complete a reasonable study as there is no limit to the data to be collected. This, then make the study so vague that it may take years to even complete one study. The theoretical framework (theory), therefore, is a foundation or structure that can support or hold the study. The theoretical framework also helps the researcher to link the research problem with available and relevant knowledge and literature, thereby, bringing meaning to the interpretation of the outcome. If there was no relevant theoretical framework or had an inappropriate theory been used, the researcher could be facing many difficulties. For instance, the researcher would not be able to perceive particular phenomena or events; the researcher may not be able to relate the variables in the study (Bickman & Rog, 1998) to the outcome and the researcher would have to take a huge amount of time to make sense of the findings as he/she is trying to read meaning out of the data. Undeniably, the theory or theoretical framework contributes greatly to one’s research efforts. Initially, a researcher may view things from his/her perspective but after much reflection, a refined frame may be developed. This intensive framework is called a theory. No doubt, this does not mean that all social scientists would agree with the theory uncovered. Naturally, some would contradict it. It has been noted that Fig. 4.4 Process of conducting a study. Source Authors

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after using a theory, researchers have had to modify the theory. This can be traced to the study of James Coleman who became well known for his theory ‘Social Capital’ but over time Putnam modified the theory, calling it ‘Bowling Alone’ theory. In the modified theory of ‘Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital’, Putnam discusses how Americans were disengaged from political participation including public meeting attendance, voter turnout, working with political parties and serving on committees. Putnam claims to have found that the lack of trust was a major contributing factor for this. In this regard, what Putnam does is to extend part of the social capital theory to include what he finds to be an extension.

Use of Theory in Social Research The world is a stage. Those of us living within it see things differently. As human beings, we may use that knowledge and understanding uncovered by others to predict and understand the world surrounding us so that we can act in more informed and effective ways. In many cases, things are not always the way we imagine them to be, neither are things the way they appear to our eyes. Based on the evidence, almost every researcher wishes to apply a theory that is relatively close to that idea. However, in reality, a few or more variables could relate within a particular situation while some variables might differ even under the same circumstances. The application of nature as an appropriate theory in social research is of value. This is precisely so because it fulfils one primary purpose which is to seek answers to a social issue. The application of a theory would, therefore, depend on various variables like culture, customs, religion, locality/periphery, country, caste, creed, tribes, time, weather, and so on. Figure 4.5 illustrates how theory can be applied. As can be seen over the years among researchers, various intellectuals/theorists have not only made themselves distinguished through empirical contribution but also through other means such as developing new theories. Parsons (1975) mentions in ‘The Role of Theory in Social Research’ that the whole thing about theory rests on a serious misconception of the relation of scientific theory to philosophy. He stresses that he does not believe that scientific theory has no philosophical implications nor does it involve any philosophical preconceptions. Parson’s statement has made other researchers more aware of what theory does or does not do, hence, enabling others to understand the controversy with more depth. Whether it is acceptable or not to have theories in one’s study cannot be questioned. For most of us who are researchers, there is always this idea that every study ought to be supported by a theory or two. As mentioned above, theories provide the basic foundation for the coherent organization of factual material. In fact, without the selection of a theory/theories, the study becomes unintelligible and so, meaningless to the reader. Researchers and scholars strive to use theories to explain the outcome of their works, whether to enhance an experiment, create more variables or just to

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Fig. 4.5 Application of theory. Source Authors

Universal

Local

•Weather •Time

•Culture •Values •Customs •Cast and Creed

Regional •Nationality •Governance Machanizm •Rules and laws

test a hypothesis. Nonetheless, there is now a need to take another perspective, that is, to see what the impact of using theory, has on social research. If we start looking at the field of social sciences, we find that the situation is different from the fields of other studies. As social science researchers, we may find that most of our controversial problems seem to be, not on the periphery, but at the very starting points of the field. Due to the differences, studies noted in social sciences are often based on arguments, rationale or logical approaches. In the field of pure sciences, medical sciences, and computer sciences, the human body reaction, experiments, and formulas work out similarly everywhere. If one formula is applied in the USA, for example, the same results or effects could be obtained in the UK or any part of the world. Likewise, similar experiences in the fields of medical sciences or pure sciences also apply in all contexts as these studies focus on similar experiments to verify their studies and outcomes. Nonetheless, in the social sciences, things and the process of looking at things are not as clear cut as the pure sciences. Unlike the pure sciences where every matter is made up to be the same in ratio or content’ every group, community, circumstances, time, and situation within the ambit of social science, contains differences, whether in sequence, characteristics, time, location, date, and so on. Because of this, people from the pure science field are unable to accept the world of ‘social sciences. Because of the variations, many social scientists face a hard time when trying to apply any general theory to specific situations. Fisher (2008), author of ‘Game Theory in Everyday Life’ mentions that games are not just played on the grounds or set locations (Indoor). These games are played by us in our everyday lives. He said that the Game theory moves all around us, adding,

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that it is not just about the games but also about the strategies we use in our interactions with other people daily. According to Fisher, the Game theory talks about the reasons behind every conflict, broken promises, confrontations, cheating, neighbourhood arguments, domestic quarrels, industrial disputes, and divorce cases. The Game theory appears as a framework providing guidance and the best strategies for human beings to use in situations comprising competitions and conflicts particularly, in commerce, trade, and war. To illustrate the Game theory, we take an example of this hypothesis; the people of one particular society are highly civilized. They are polite, gentle, and soft in the way they talk to each other. Being so civilized, they each seem to understand each other. Living in a community, they are so civilized that they care about each other’s dignity and property and because of this living trait, they each should be possessing similar traits and values, possibly even similar living standards. However, in another community, the people may be totally against such declaration of civilized behaviour. In this regard, their values, traits, culture, customs, and living standards are different. Supposing that these two groups of people need to live within the same community, how are they to balance their living as both have different attributes? In this context, any researcher intending to apply the Game theory as a way to explain the conduct and behaviour of both groups of people in social research would likely be getting different results. Even the application of this theory in any aspect of the study would be made differently. At this point, it would be fair to ask if that theory suffices. Thus, it has to be emphasized that the researcher has to pay great attention while using the theory. Fisher (2008) notes that there is another side to the Game theory—a side that concerns cooperation rather than confrontation, collaboration rather than competition. Biologists have used it to understand how cooperation evolves in nature in the face of “survival of the fittest”. Sociologists, psychologists, and political scientists have used it to understand why people have such problems in cooperating, even though they need cooperation more than before if they were to resolve important and worrying problems like global warming, resource depletion, pollution, terrorism, and war. In the context of this chapter, we wanted to see whether the same theory could be applied in everyday situations to find out whether the lessons learned might help resolve larger-scale problems. At the least, we thought, we might have discovered some clues as to how we, as individuals, could help to resolve such problems. In such situations, most researchers get confused. They wonder how a theory could be used in conducting their social research. Over the years, as a research community, we have learned that there is no ideal theory that could cover all areas. Thus, a researcher should carefully take a look at those parts of the theory which could be administered and remove those that cannot. Nevertheless, it must be borne in mind that every society or group is different from one another in several respects, as mentioned above. In this regard, using a rational approach is very important when using any theory in social research. At the time of conducting a study, a researcher has to set the objectives and research questions aptly and appropriately. If the objectives are very clear and the research questions are well formulated, then the selection of any theory would not become a huge problem.

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Going back to the discussion of the theoretical framework, it can be said that the main advantage of using the theoretical framework is so that research data can be interpreted and coded for future use. The idea of using a theory is that it has a philosophical perspective. Firstly, the theory could be taken as a lens that guides the researcher in choosing a topic and issues for research. While using the theory in social research, we can also find the shortcomings of the theory. As already discussed, not every theory in social science can be universally applied, as in the pure sciences, where the law of gravity is similar in every situation when applied in any part of the world. In social science research, the implication of any theory or framework used would vary. It has been noted that during the selection of any theory, researchers get excited. They think that if they choose the right theory, more than half of their study has been completed. Actually, after the selection of an appropriate theory, the task has just begun. The theory, when selected, acts as an organized description for the empirical observation that connects it to particular facts or systems. Every theory could be agreed or disagreed with. Researchers can then challenge or adapt the theory. As mentioned earlier, the theory helps the researcher to formulate questions/questionnaires for future studies. The theory provides a frame through which a researcher can observe the facts, conceptualize ideas, develop study objectives, generate research questions, and make a hypothesis. The fundamentals of the theory are attributes, variables, epistemological knowledge, ordinary human inquiry, explanatory, structural functionalism, inductive, deductive, hypothesis, and agreement reality, through which, a researcher can conceptualize and cover the entire study. While using the theory, the researcher has to bear in mind that the theory only serves as a platform and guidance for which to explain their interrelatedness. Furthermore, the relationship between the topic of study and theory should be matched. Mismatching the concept and theory can create confusion. Sometimes, researchers ignore this phenomenon when they just want to use well-known or famous theories. In other words, these researchers try to match their findings or analyses with the theories they have selected, thereby, developing possible biases that are inclined towards the theory. In one example, Karl Weick’s theory of organizational information, given in the 1960s during the industrial revolution (when communication in organizations was not given much attention) was used as a theory for a thesis that was written in 2014. This implies that a fifty-year-old theory was used to explain an issue that was happening in the twenty-first century, a possibility that certain things may not match because of the wide gap of time. Nonetheless, researchers have also debated whether it would be better to use more current, new, or emerging theories. What is important is that a researcher must know how to use the theory and to relate it well to his/her study in a logical manner.

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Conclusions Theory in social research supports and facilitates the researcher to raise fundamental questions and facts, thereby, resulting in a common core or body of knowledge that is bound by close and logical integration of the theory with the data. Based on the above, it can be argued that theory in social research plays a pivotal role in streamlining a study. Without the use of an appropriate theory or conceptual/theoretical framework, the research becomes less convincing, less sound and less validated. However, while using a theory, a researcher needs to consider the matter of the selection of the theory seriously. A good theory produces a better piece of research work that would be more convincing, more sound and thus, more acceptable.

References Bickman, L., & Rog, J. D. (1998). Handbook of applied social research methods. Sage Publications. Brown, K. W. P.C., Cozby, D., & Kee, W. (1999). Research methods in human development. California State University: Mayfield Publishing Company. Bulmer, M., Gibbs, J., et al. (2010). Social measurement through social surveys: An applied approach. Ashgate Publishing Limited. Burr, W. R. (1973). Theory construction and the sociology of the family. Wiley Interscience. Fisher, L. (2008). Rock, paper, scissors: Game theory in everyday life. Basic Books. ISBN. 0786726938. Gilbert, N. (2005). Researching social life. SAGE Publications Ltd. Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2005). Practical research planning and design (5th ed.). Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall. Mladovsky, P., & Mossialos, E. (2008). A conceptual framework for community-based health insurance in low-income countries: Social capital and economic development. World Development, 36(4), 590–607. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2007.04.018 Parsons, T. (1975). The present status of ‘structural-functional’ theory in sociology. In Social systems and the evolution of action theory, The free press. Silver, P. (1983). Educational administration: Theoretical perspectives on practice and research. Harper & Row. Tavallaei, M., & Abu Talib, M. (2010). A general perspective on role of theory in qualitative research. Uluslararası Sosyal Aratırmalar Dergisi, The Journal of International Social Research, 3/11(Spring 2010), 570–578.

Part II

Philosophy of Social Science and Research Paradigms

Chapter 5

Inductive and/or Deductive Research Designs Md. Shahidul Haque

Abstract This chapter aims to introduce the readers, especially the Bangladeshi undergraduate and postgraduate students to some fundamental considerations of inductive and deductive research designs. The deductive approach refers to testing a theory, where the researcher builds up a theory or hypotheses and plans a research stratagem to examine the formulated theory. On the contrary, the inductive approach intends to construct a theory, where the researcher begins by gathering data to establish a theory. In the beginning, a researcher must clarify which approach he/she will follow in his/her research work. The chapter discusses basic concepts, characteristics, steps and examples of inductive and deductive research designs. Here, also a comparison between inductive and deductive research designs is shown. It concludes with a look at how both inductive and deductive designs are used comprehensively to constitute a clearer image of research work. Keywords Deductive research design · Inductive research design · Hypothesis · Research design · Theory

Introduction In social research, two research designs may be followed; one is inductive, and another is deductive. Strauss and Corbin (1998) described the inductive analysis as, “the researcher begins with an area of study and allows the theory to emerge from the data” (p. 12). Deductive design is a form of data analysis that aims to see if the findings are consistent with the investigator’s previous presumptions, theories, or hypotheses (Thomas, 2006). Different kinds of qualitative data analysis, including grounded theory, employ an inductive method (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). The inductive process starts with observations and proceeds to goals such as exploration and discovery. On the contrary, in quantitative research work, a deductive method usually begins with theories and hypotheses that can be evaluated by observations. This is a Md. S. Haque (B) Department of Social Work, Jagannath University, Dhaka 1100, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_5

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procedure of shifting from theory to observation that is too connected with objectives such as linking causes to consequences. However, most of the research studies can go through both inductive and deductive phases. These two methods of research design have different styles in conducting research. Inductive research design is open-ended and exploratory, whether the deductive design is narrower and is concentrated on examining or confirming hypotheses. Both inductive and deductive research designs are used in social research at some times. It works as a cycle that starts from theories down to observations and returns to theories again. Even in the most confined research, the researchers may notice patterns in the data that lead them to create new theories.

Definitions of Key Concepts Hypothesis A hypothesis is one of the most inevitable instruments in all types of investigation. The term ‘hypothesis’ is a formation of two parts of words; hypo and thesis. Here ‘hypo’ stands for the tentative subject to the validation and ‘thesis’ means a narration on the resolution of a problem. So, the word ‘hypothesis’ aims to a tentative statement about the solution of a problem, the exactness of which remains to be examined. Hypothesis indicates an answer to the question that is to be proved empirically and grounded on a few rationales (Singh, 2006). According to Cambridge, a hypothesis is a theme or clarification for something that is based on familiar data which has not been confirmed yet.

Variable Variable is a term frequently used in research projects. A variable is any quantity or characteristic which may possess different numerical values or categories. For example, gender is a variable because it has two values, female or male. Engel and Schutt (2005) defined, “a characteristic or property that can vary (take on different values or attributes)”.

Theory The theory is a correlated set of ideas and propositions about empirical reality, embodied into a deductive system to illustrate relationships of particular aspects of the universe. The theory is a presumption or a set of ideas meant to describe

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anything, particularly one based on the common laws that are independent of the subject of the explanation (Oxford).

Research Design A research design is a blueprint for collecting and analysing data that is commenced to assess a certain theoretical aspect. Burns and Grove (2003) defined it as “a plan for performing a study with maximal control over issues that may interfere with the findings’ validity” (p. 195).

Definitions of Inductive and Deductive Research Inductive Research Inductive research design is often used in social research. The term ‘inductive’ is originated from the Latin word ‘inductivus’ (Oxford Dictionary, 2016a, b, c). Inductive reasoning refers to the use of specific examples to come to a common consensus on something (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2016a; b, c). In strict, the inductive process concerned with qualitative research usually starts with observations, then which may be used to form a theory or raise hypotheses. It is named as ‘specificgeneral’ or ‘bottom-up’ method. The inductive design is also known as the theorybuilding method. The inductive approach starts with particular data, which are then used to build (induce) a common narration (a theory) to estimate the data. This approach can be visualized using the research circle; rather than starting at the peak of the circle with a theory, the investigator comes from the bottom with facts and then builds the theory (Brewer & Hunter, 1989). The inductive design begins with observations, and because of it, theories are developed in the completion of the study (Goddard & Melville, 2004) (Fig. 5.1). According to Neuman (2003), the inductive approach starts with comprehensive observations of the universe and progresses to more abstract generalizations and concepts. To put it another way, when a researcher uses an inductive design to study, starting with a subject matter, he/she tends to generate empirical generalizations and point out preliminary links as he/she goes along. Finally, inductive research is a scientific study in which the researcher begins with an open mind and examines the entire picture to determine what is happening. He/she makes a lot of observations, discerns a trend, generalizes, and comes up with a theory. So, it is clear that inductive research’s goal is to infer theoretical concepts and patterns from observed data.

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Fig. 5.1 Inductive research design. Source Developed by the author

Theory Tentative Hypothesis Pattern Observation

Deductive Research The term deductive is originated from the Latin ‘deductivus’ (Oxford Dictionary, 2016a, 2016b, 2016c). Deductive means the use of logic or reason to conclude or form an opinion on something (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2016a; b, c). In deductive research design, the work progresses from general to specific. It’s sometimes referred to as a “top-down” method. Deductive reasoning commences with a common statement, or hypothesis, and investigates all alternatives to arrive at a definite, rational conclusion. The purpose of deductive research is to put theory-based concepts and patterns to the test using new empirical evidence. Theory-testing research is another name for deductive research. To test hypotheses and theories, the scientific method employs deduction. The purpose of theory testing is to modify, enrich, and extend a theory, not only to test it (Fig. 5.2). The deductive approach involves formulating a hypothesis (or hypotheses) depending on the current theory and then devising a research procedure to test it (Wilson, 2010). According to Beiske (2007), the deductive research design investigates a familiar theory or phenomenon and examines whether it is true in a given Fig. 5.2 Deductive research design. Source Developed by the author

Theory Hypothesis Observation Confirmation

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situation. The deductive method is the one that most nearly follows the logical path. Starting with a theory, the logic allows for a new hypothesis. This theory is put to the examination by having it confronted with observations that either confirm or refute the hypothesis (Snieder & Larner, 2009). Finally, a deductive research strategy would be used to test a theory, connection, or relationship that has been proposed, asserted, or postulated by a certain theory. The results would either support or amend the theory, as well as cast doubt on its assumptions. The opposite of inductive research design is the deductive research design.

Characteristics Characteristics of Inductive Research Inductive research is exploratory and open-ended, beginning with particular data that is subsequently used to construct a general interpretation or theory. An inductive method is used in various categories of qualitative data analysis, including grounded theory (Corbin & Strauss, 1990). Inductive arguments are neither “valid” nor “invalid”, but rather “strong” or “weak” (a matter of degree). Not necessarily truthpreserving and premises provide some support for the conclusion. Saunders et al. (2007) described an inductive design should possess the following characteristics: • The researcher attempts to understand the meanings that individuals attach to specific events. • A less structured approach is taken, which may lead to the discovery of alternate explanations for the problem at hand. • The method can offer special consideration to the circumstances where the events occur. • A small sample size could be preferable. • Qualitative data are gathered by researchers. • To collect data, researchers can utilize a variety of ways. • The requirement to generalize findings is less important to researchers.

Characteristics of Deductive Research A top-down strategy is used in deductive reasoning. It usually starts with the selection of a pre-existing theory on a particular area of interest. Creswell and Plano Clark (2017) explained, “the deductive researcher works from the ‘top-down’, from a theory to hypotheses to data to add to or contradict the theory” (p. 23). In most quantitative studies, a deductive research approach is adopted. Deductive reasoning is utilized in the scientific method to arrive at a logically correct conclusion. A deductive research design, according to Saunders et al. (2007), should have the following characteristics:

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Observations

Pattern

Hypothesis

Theory

Fig. 5.3 Steps of inductive research design. Source Developed by the author

• • • • • •

There is an attempt to describe causal relationships among variables. Quantitative information is gathered. Controls are used to ensure that the data are accurate. To achieve reliability, a highly organized methodology is used. A researcher is independent by what he or she is observing. The concepts are operationalized in a manner that allows for quantitative measurement of facts. • The size of the samples should be large enough to allow results to be generalized.

Steps of Inductive Research Design There is no theory at the beginning of the inquiry with the inductive design, but when research is completed, a theory may be formed. It is therefore essential to describe the main steps involved in executing inductive research (Fig. 5.3). Inductive research design starts with particular observations and then proceeds on to bigger generalizations and theories depending on those observations. In a holistic view, it includes observation, pattern, hypothesis and theory. In this design, once an investigator has recognized trends and patterns in a set of data, he/she can form a few hypotheses to investigate and lastly produce some common conclusions or theories. In an elaborate discussion, the researcher has to follow some specific steps to conduct inductive research. Some of the steps are listed below: • • • • • • • •

Specific measurements and observations. Subject of interest. Collecting data. Clusters or patterns in data. Analysis of the data. Emergence of themes. Generalizations. Disseminate the results.

Steps of Deductive Research Design When conducting research using a deductive design, the investigator develops a set of hypotheses that must be tested. The investigation will next prove the hypotheses to be correct or incorrect by employing the appropriate methodology. In general, deductive research design follows five different stages: (a) inferring hypothesis from

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Hypothesis

Observation

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Confirmation/Rejection

Fig. 5.4 Steps of deductive research design. Source Developed by the author

the theory; (b) trying to formulate a hypothesis in functional terms and suggesting relations between two particular variables; (c) applying an appropriate method to test the hypothesis; (d) evaluating the results of the test and thereby accepting or denying the theory, and (e) updating theory in cases where a hypothesis is not verified (Fig. 5.4). According to Saunders et al. (2007), deductive research proceeds through five stages: (1) The theory will be used to generate a hypothesis. (2) An explanation of how the concepts will be measured will be provided, along with a proposal for a link between two ideas or variables. (3) The hypothesis would be proven or disproved. (4) The investigation’s specific outcome will be evaluated. (5) The theory will be updated if necessary, in the light of the results.

Examples There are numerous prominent examples of inductive and deductive research designs; the following examples will be helpful for a better understanding.

Example of Inductive Research Design Suppose, a group of researchers has completed a study on the Involvement of old age people in intensive labour in Dhaka city. At first, the researchers collected data from old age people from the different parts of Dhaka city using several research tools and then they analysed data. As a result, they developed a series of recommendations based on their findings. The researchers also developed hypotheses for the people who might wish to conduct further investigation of the topic. If the researchers work on it and find the same results, it would be a theory in future. Here, inductive research design worked from distinctive observations to larger generalizations and theories.

Example of Deductive Research Design The domestic violence study by Sherman and Berk (1984) is a good demonstration of deductive study design. According to the deterrence theory, punishment will

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reduce to commit further crimes. At first, Sherman and Berk came up with a unique hypothesis: arrest for spousal abuse decreases the possibility of recurrent offences. The probability of recurrent offences was the dependent variable, while the arrest was the independent variable. Sherman and Berk put their hypothesis to the test by conducting an experiment in which police officers responded to allegations of marital abuse in one of three ways: (a) arresting the abuser, (b) separating the couples without making arrests, or (c) just scolding the offender. Whenever the researchers looked at their data (police documents for the participants in the study), they discovered that only 13% of those arrested for assaulting their spouse repeated the offence, particularly in comparison to a 26% recidivism rate for those segregated from their spouse by police without being arrested. As a result, the testing backed up the theory (Engel & Schutt, 2005).

Combined Approach: Inductive and Deductive Although inductive and deductive research procedures are distinct, in some cases, both inductive and deductive methods of reasoning can be applied. On the other hand, a researcher may start a project intending to use just inductive or deductive research design, but then he/she can realize that the other approach is required to provide better outcomes (Fig. 5.5). When we identify unwanted patterns in the data collected for testing a hypothesis, we use inductive reasoning in deductive research. Because of the nature of the study cycle, some studies will also include both inductive and deductive research methodologies (Engel & Schutt, 2005). Here is an example of combined research design.

Theory Inductive

Emperical Generalization/ Hypothesis

Hypothesis

Deductive Observation

Descriptive Research

Data/

Confirmation

Observation

Fig. 5.5 The research circle (inductive and deductive). Source Developed by author

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Example of a Combined Approach In a study, a hundred salespersons were interviewed about their motivation in work. After analysing the collected data, the researcher induced a common proposition on salesperson motivation that appears to be accurate for a great number of interviewees. The researcher might assume that this proposition has not been addressed in earlier sales force motivation research and theory. Perhaps, a significant proportion of interviewees said that having a supervisor with excellent communication skills is crucial to their motivation. The researcher may next utilize a deductive study design to test this proposition on a significant number of samples, possibly through a questionnaire. The results would then supply material to reflect on and modify a salesperson motivation theory. In social research, this type of inductive–deductive study design is fairly common (Hackley, 2003).

Importance of Inductive and Deductive Research Scientific investigation can take one of two forms, depending on the researcher’s skills and interests; inductive or deductive, and both are important for conducting research.

Importance of Inductive Research In research design The premises of qualitative research are based on an inductive rather than deductive approach. It comes from the observational aspects, which generate questions that the investigator tries to explain. Qualitative research is frequently connected to inductive research design, in which a variety of methods are employed to collect data and investigate the problem from many angles (Easterby-Smith et al., 2002; Gray, 2004). Developing theory/model Researchers collect and analyse data, as well as establish theories from the ground up in inductive research. In certain domains, theory forms slowly, concept by concept and proposition by the proposition. Ideas and empirical generalizations build and mature over time. Links emerge quickly, and investigators weave wisdom from several inquiries into more abstract theories. The inductive method is known as the creation of a theory, where researchers begin with data collection to develop a theory—highlighted by Saunders et al. (2007). A researcher must explain whatever approach he/she is using in his/her research study.

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Making scientific knowledge In inductive research, the researcher observes the facts objectively and registers what they see with an impartial mind. These observations then serve as the foundation for the development of theories and laws that create scientific knowledge. Furthermore, inductive researchers believe that observations may be reasonably generalized in common and inclusive principles and those scientific assumptions can be verified and validated (Godfrey et al., 2010). The appropriate approach for social research design In social science research, a generic inductive technique is frequently mentioned. The inductive technique emphasizes observation and gives a conclusion through observation, as does the majority of social research.

Importance of Deductive Research Design In research design Deductive research is usually related to quantitative research design. Trochim (2006) contends that the concept must be removed that quantitative research is always confirmatory and deductive. Trochim continues by stating that much quantitative research is exploratory and is used to corroborate highly precise deductive hypotheses. Theory/model testing Researchers utilize theory to facilitate the design of research and the explanation of outcomes in a logical method. Researchers gain confidence in some aspects of a theory as they continue to undertake an empirical study to test it. If numerous wellconducted investigations yield negative results, researchers may change or deny some of a theory’s assertions. According to Saunders et al. (2007), the deductive approach, often called theory testing, entails the researcher developing a theory or hypotheses and designing a research technique to evaluate the theory. Making scientific knowledge The deductive technique in building scientific knowledge in research begins with a theory, from which a hypothesis is generated and is used for world observations. Then the hypothesis will be accepted or rejected, showing how strong or weak the theory is.

Differences Between Inductive and Deductive Research Design According to Trochim (2006), inductive and deductive designs are two main techniques of reasoning. Both techniques are opposed to one another. The deductive

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research works from the ‘top-down’ technique. Using theory, the deductive research approach permits the investigator to develop a hypothesis. The researcher gathers a diversity of data and information to corroborate or refute the hypothesis and fix the problem (Gill & Johnson, 2010). The inductive approach is commonly referred to as a ‘bottom-up’ technique to learning, where the investigator applies observations to construct an abstraction or narrate a picture of the subject under investigation (Lodico et al., 2006). The deductive research design, which is focused on a general idea to arrive at a particular situation, is related to the positivism paradigm. On the other hand, the inductive research strategy is related to the interpretivism paradigm, which is focused on a particular idea to generalize the circumstance based on the study topic (Crowther & Lancaster, 2009). The most significant distinction between the two approaches is how they perceive reality. Inductive and deductive research designs have some fundamental differences. The following table illustrates these distinctions (Table 5.1): Table 5.1 Differences between inductive and deductive research design SL

Attribute

Inductive research design

Deductive research design

1

Direction

Bottom-up or specific-general

Top-down or general-specific

2

Purpose

Generates theory from observations

Tests theory through observations

3

Beginning

Used to form hypotheses

Usually begins with hypotheses

4

Orientation

Oriented to discovery, exploration

Oriented to cause and effect

5

Focus

This method is used to make This method uses deduction broad generalizations from to test hypotheses and specific observations theories

6

Procedures

Emergent design

Predetermined design

7

Data collection and analysis

Merges data collection and analysis

Separates data collection and analysis

8

Research design

Associated with qualitative research

Associated with quantitative research

9

Flexibility

A more flexible structure to permit changes of research emphasis as the research progresses

A highly structured approach

10

Generalization

Less concern with the need to generalize

The necessity to select samples of sufficient size to generalize conclusions

Source: Adapted from Saunders et al. (2007) & Morgan (2014)

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Conclusions The terms ‘deductive’ and ‘inductive’ are frequently practised in social research and both the research designs play an important role. In inductive research, the objective of the researcher is to derive theoretical ideas and patterns from observed facts. Hence, the inductive design is also called theory-building research. In deductive design, a researcher aims to examine conceptions and patterns acquainted from theory utilizing new experimental data. The deductive design is also known as a theorytesting experiment (Bhattacherjee, 2012). Although there appear to be several debates among investigators about the optimal strategy to use when conducting research and collecting data, these two approaches are not mutually exclusive and they frequently address the same question in various ways. In social research, the single research approach is very familiar; researchers use either inductive or deductive design. But in this case, the expected research outcome may not visible sometimes. That is why nowadays, a combination of both inductive and deductive research designs is preferable for analysing cross-cultural collaboration design patterns.

References Beiske, B. (2007). Research methods: Uses and limitations of questionnaires, interviews and case studies. GRIN Verlag. Bhattacherjee, A. (2012). Social science research: Principles, methods, and practices (2nd ed.). Global Text Project. Brewer, J., & Hunter, A. (1989). Multi method research: A synthesis of styles. Sage Publications Ltd. Burns, N., & Grove, S. K. (2003). Understanding nursing research (3rd ed.). Saunders. Cambridge Dictionary. (2016a). Hypothesis. In Dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved October, 15, 2016, from http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/hypothesis. Corbin, J. M., & Strauss, A. (1990). Grounded theory research: Procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria. Qualitative Sociology, 13, 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988593 Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2017). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3rd ed.). Sage Publications Inc. Crowther, D., & Lancaster, G. (2009). Research methods: A concise introduction to research in management and business. Butterworth-Heinemann. Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R., & Lowe, A. (2002). Management research: An introduction. Sage Publications Ltd. Engel, R. J., & Schutt, R. K. (2005). The practice of research in social work. Sage Publications Inc. Gill, J., & Johnson, P. (2010). Research Methods for Managers (4th ed.). Sage Publications Ltd. Goddard, W., & Melville, S. (2004). Research methodology: An introduction (2nd ed.). Blackwell Publishing. Godfrey, J., Hodgson, A., Tarca, A., Hamilton, J., & Holmes, S. (2010). Accounting theory (7th ed). Wiley. ISBN: 978-0-470-81815-2. Gray, D. E. (2004). Doing research in the real world. Sage Publications Ltd. Hackley, C. (2003). Doing research projects in marketing, management and consumer research. Routledge. Lodico, M. G., Spaulding, D. T., & Voegtle, K. H. (2006). Methods in educational research: From theory to practice. John Wiley & Sons.

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Merriam-Webster. (2016a). Inductive. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved October 12, 2016a, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inductive. Merriam-Webster. (2016b). Deductive. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved October 12, 2016b, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deductive. Morgan, D. L. (2014). Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Methods: A Pragmatic Approach. SAGE Publications, Inc. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781544304533 Neuman, W. L. (2003). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Allyn and Bacon. Oxford Dictionary. (2016a). Inductive. In Oxford online dictionary. Retrieved October 15, 2016a, from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/inductive. Oxford Dictionary. (2016b). Deductive. In Oxford online dictionary. Retrieved October 15, 2016b, from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/deductive. Oxford Dictionary. (2016c). Theory. In Oxford online dictionary. Retrieved October 15, 2016c, from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/theory. Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2007). Research methods for business students (5th ed.). Prentice Hall. Sherman, L. W., & Berk, R. A. (1984). The specific deterrent effects of arrest for domestic assault. American Sociological Review, 49(2), 261–272. Singh, K. (2006). Fundamental of research methodology and statistics. New Age International (P) Limited. Snieder, R., & Larner, K. (2009). The art of being a scientist: A guide for graduate students and their mentors. Cambridge University Press. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research (2nd ed.). Sage Publications Ltd. Thomas, D. R. (2006). A general inductive approach for analyzing qualitative evaluation data. American Journal of Evaluation, 27(2), 237–246. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214005283748 Trochim, W. M. K. (2006). Research methods knowledge base. Retrieved on October 12, 2016, from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net. Wilson, J. (2010). Essentials of business research: A guide to doing your research project. Sage Publishers Ltd.

Chapter 6

Positivism Premalatha Karupiah

Abstract Positivism is a paradigm that has dominated both the natural and social sciences. The ontology of positivism is called realism where reality is seen as consisting of discrete events that can be experienced only by the human senses. Positivism uses dualist and objectivist epistemology. This means that the researcher and the observed reality are independent of each other and the quest for knowledge must be value-free and objective. Positivism mostly uses an experimental methodology as a way to gather information regarding the event which is being studied. This paradigm has been heavily criticized and this lead to the development of postpositivism. The ontology of postpositivism is critical realism. It has modified epistemological and methodological assumptions from positivism. Contemporary research uses a more postpositivist approach in research. This is mainly because some basic assumptions of positivism are almost impossible to be met in research. Keywords Positivist · Realism · Criticism · Social science research · Postpositivism · Critical rationalism

Introduction Positivism is a paradigm that has dominated both the natural and social sciences for more than 400 years. A paradigm is a set of beliefs on the nature of the world, the position of an individual in it and the many possible relationships to the world. An inquiry paradigm refers to what the inquiry is about and what lies within and outside the legitimate boundaries of inquiry (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). Positivism has been widely used in literature to describe any natural science method used in the social sciences. Therefore, the term ‘positivism’ is used to describe both positivism and critical rationalism (postpositivism) in literature (Blaikie, 2007). In this chapter, I

P. Karupiah (B) School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_6

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follow Guba and Lincoln (1994) to differentiate between positivism and postpositivism. Yu (2003) noted that there is a common misconception in research that most quantitative research uses a positivism paradigm. The positivist philosophy of science was assembled by Comte (Hassard, 1993). In positivism, empirical knowledge must reject theological and metaphysical explanations and limit itself to domains that can be observed by the senses (Blaikie, 2000). Theories that cannot be verified through observation are not considered scientific theories (Godfrey & Hill, 1995). The aim of research in positivism is to explain social phenomena to be able to predict and control the phenomena (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). Some other terms often used to describe positivism are scientific, rationalistic, and empiricism (Henderson, 2011). When exploring a research paradigm, three main questions are often discussed. The first question is the ontological question, i.e., what are the forms and the nature of reality (Guba & Lincoln, 1994, p. 108). For social research, ontology refers to the …claims and assumptions that are made about the nature of social reality, claims about what exists, what it looks like, what units make it up, and how these units interact with each other. In short, ontological assumptions are concerned with what we believe constitutes social reality (Blaikie, 2000, p. 8). The second important question in exploring a paradigm is the epistemological question. It looks at the ways of obtaining knowledge of the social reality based on one’s ontological assumption. Therefore, epistemology is the claims related to how reality can be known (Blaikie, 2000). The final question is the methodological question, i.e., how can the knowledge be obtained by the researcher (Guba & Lincoln, 1994, p. 108). All these questions are interrelated. For a researcher, the assumption on the nature of reality is related to what can be inquired and how the inquiry can be conducted. In other words, ‘ontology is the starting point of all research, after which one’s epistemological and methodological positions logically follow’(Grix, 2002, p. 177). Following the above-mentioned questions, this chapter, therefore, discusses the ontological, epistemological and methodological assumptions of both positivism and postpositivism. It also discusses various criticisms towards positivism which were instrumental in the development of postpositivism. Finally, it gives some examples of the use of positivism and postpositivism in contemporary social science research.

Definition of Key Concepts Induction Induction can be defined as a process for moving from particular instances to general statements or conclusions. It starts with some singular statements based on specific instances of an event. Based on these statements a general conclusion is made. It is a method that helps us move from particular facts or observations to general statements

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which comprehend them. It is, therefore, used to generate theory from data. In induction, general conclusions are made using specific observations. Observations made using the senses are used to make a general conclusion regarding these observations. A theory is then formulated by generalizing a phenomenon. It also means that a theory is made to explain the observations. One common example used to explain induction is the observation of ravens. If every raven that has been observed so far is black, we will be drawn to conclude that all ravens are black (O’Hear, 1989). Induction has also been heavily criticized. Critics have argued that there is no logical way of establishing the validity of the generalizations made through induction because induction involves the process of making generalized statements from a finite number of observations.

Deduction Deduction is a process where we derive and test particular statements from general statements. From the general statement or theory, a hypothesis is derived and it will be tested using observations. If the observations do not support the hypothesis, the hypothesis, hence the theory is rejected. It is an alternative to the inductive methodology. Rather than using observations to develop a theory (as in induction), deduction depends on observations to test theories or to falsify theories. In deduction, theories can never be proven or confirmed because no amount of evidence can prove a theory to be true, but one instance of contrary evidence will prove that a theory is false. This point can be illustrated using a classic example. Even though we observe many white swans, it does not prove that all swans are white or will be white, but an observation of a black swan will immediately prove that our generalization (that all swans are white) is false (O’Hear, 1989).

Paradigm A paradigm is a set of beliefs or assumptions on what should be studied and how research should be conducted (Bryman, 2008; Guba & Lincoln, 1994). It is a worldview of what the nature of the world is. It is a belief that is accepted as it is and cannot be proved as the ultimate truth (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). It can also be seen as a conceptual framework for a particular tradition of scientific research (Crook & Garratt, 2005).

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Positivism Positivism is a research paradigm that emphasizes the use of the methods in the natural sciences in the field of social sciences. It has dominated the formal discourse of physical and social sciences for 400 years (Bryman, 2008; Guba & Lincoln, 1994). It follows an ontological assumption that reality exists independent of the researcher and can be represented using universal propositions (Blakie, 2000).

Postpositivism Postpositivism refers to various approaches which developed as a way of rejecting positivism. It refers to approaches that tried to deal with the criticism of positivism through some major modifications to positivism (Crook & Garratt, 2005). Some of these approaches share a similar ontological position with positivism while others reject positivism’s ontology (Guba & Lincoln, 1994).

Realism Realism is an ontological position where reality is seen as existing outside and independent of the researcher. It is the ontology of positivism. There are many different categories of realism such as naïve realism, critical realism, historical realism, and subtle realism (see Blaikie, 2007; Guba & Lincoln, 1994).

Ontology of Positivism The ontology of positivism is called realism (naïve realism) (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). In positivism, the reality is something that exists independently and outside the researcher. This reality is seen as consisting of discrete events which can be experienced by the human senses. Positivism particularly logical positivism rejects theoretical and metaphysical knowledge and only accepts knowledge derived from experience. Only phenomena that can be experienced are considered relevant to the inquiry. According to this view, social reality consists of a complex of causal relations between events (Blaikie, 2000, p. 102) and these existing patterns and sequences which can be discovered in an inquiry (Blaikie, 2010). These patterns and sequences, in reality, can be reduced to laws and generalized regardless of time and context and used to predict the phenomena (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). Therefore, the researcher is trying to find out a truth that is out there, and this truth can be explained in the form of cause and effect law, and these laws are generalizable (Oliver, 1992).

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Epistemology of Positivism In this paradigm, knowledge is produced through the human senses. Positivism uses dualist and objectivist epistemology. The researcher and the event (or phenomenon) that is being observed is seen as independent entities. A trained researcher can take an objective position (Blaikie, 2010) and the study of social science can be valuefree. The researcher, therefore, can conduct a study independently without being influenced by the assumptions underpinning the study and the methods used to study it (Oliver, 1992). It is also assumed that the researcher is not influencing the study or is being influenced by the study. The researcher can observe the reality as it is either directly or with the help of instruments. These objective observations verify hypotheses that are later established as laws. These laws describe reality (Blaikie, 2000; Godfrey & Hill, 1995; Guba & Lincoln, 1994). Positivists use an inductive research strategy (Blaikie, 2007). In a study, hypotheses should be stated clearly and tested empirically from data that are collected objectively, i.e., by setting aside all preconceptions about the reality (Blaikie, 2000). Therefore, it is assumed that the researcher does not influence the study or is being influenced by the study. The researcher’s values and biases would not influence the research if a prescribed procedure is followed rigorously. In addition to this, it is also believed that the findings are replicable if the same procedures are followed (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). Therefore, a researcher who would like to use this paradigm to do research should not be influenced by his/her biases and remains detached from the study. The main aim of the study would be to establish social laws regarding the patterns that exist in the social world. Since the researcher takes a very detached position in this paradigm, the presentation of his/her study is done in a very formal writing tone and using technical terminology (Tashakkori et al., 1998 as cited in Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004). The epistemological stand of positivism has been heavily criticized and will be discussed in the next section. In terms of methodology, positivism uses an experimental and manipulative methodology. Hypotheses are often stated clearly and verified. Most studies using the positivist paradigm are quantitative (Guba & Lincoln, 1994).

Criticisms of Positivism Many of the assumptions of positivism have been criticized heavily both in the natural and social sciences (Oliver, 1992). Many of the early premises of positivism have been rejected by researchers. Many researchers have problems in fully accepting the ontology of positivism that a single true reality exists (Racher & Robinson, 2003). Scholars argued that reality which is seen as existing ‘out there’ is mediated by the human consciousness. In addition to this, positivism failed to recognize that the social condition and context are important in exploring the social reality and the researcher plays a big role in the representation of the social facts (Racher & Robinson, 2003). Positivism has also been criticized for its inability to handle theories

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on unobservable constructs which have been successful in making predictions that were later confirmed by observation particularly in quantum physics (Godfrey & Hill, 1995). Positivism has been heavily criticized. Some examples of the criticisms are • on the basic assumptions of positivism. The notion that truth is out there is questioned both in natural and social science. • on the impossibility of being objective and detached from the research, and that experiments are not the most common method of data collection in the social sciences. The epistemology of positivism has been heavily criticized in the field of social sciences. There have been many arguments on the difficulty of being objective and detached from social science research. The idea of having value-free and theory-free observations which are objective and independent of the researcher has been challenged both empirically and logically (Crook & Garratt, 2005; Paul et al., 2007). Some scholars argue that even the selection of a phenomenon to be studied and the selection of variables to be observed influence the research that is being conducted. Hence, it is impossible to be objective or detached in a study. In addition to this, scholars have also challenged the methodology suggested in positivism. In social research, true experiments are rarely possible. Henderson (2011) highlighted that research that is based on pure positivism and uses true experiments are rare in leisure research. Alternative social research paradigms such as postpositivism and interpretivism developed due to the criticisms of positivism. Postpositivism still shares a major part of the positivist ontology; however, other paradigms with different ontologies such as the interpretive paradigm were also developed (Oliver, 1992).

Postpositivism Postpositivism developed in the nineteenth century due to the criticisms of positivism (Creswell, 2014). Postpositivism shares some elements of positivism in terms of ontology but has been modified to address the criticisms on the epistemology and methodology of positivism. Postpositivism is also used by some scholars to refer to approaches to an inquiry that developed as a reaction to positivism. This includes critical rationalism which has a similar ontology with positivism but also other approaches which reject the notion of an independent reality that exists outside the researcher such as constructivism. Constructivism uses a relativist ontology. However, in this chapter, postpositivism only discusses the realist postpositivism (critical rationalism) paradigm which uses a realist ontology (Fox, 2008). The ontology of postpositivism is called critical realism. Similar to positivism, the reality is assumed to exist out there (Creswell, 2014) but can only be understood imperfectly because of the flawed human intellectual mechanism (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). While naïve realism implies that the researchers’ view of reality reflects the reality, critical realists believe that the researcher’s view of reality is just one way of

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knowing the reality (Bryman, 2008), and it has to be critically examined (Racher & Robinson, 2003). Critical realists, therefore, acknowledge that their understanding of reality is provisional (Bryman, 2008). Postpositivism uses a modified dualist and objective epistemology. Due to the impossibility and inadequacy of dualism, postpositivism recognized the multiplicity and complexity of human experiences (Henderson, 2011). Objectivity, on the other hand, is still seen as a part of postpositivism. Since being objective is also impossible for the researchers, postpositivists use external controls as a way of maintaining objectivity (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). Furthermore, research is seen as a way of moving closer to a truth that cannot be fully verified (Racher & Robinson, 2003). Postpositivism focuses on falsifying hypotheses rather than verifying them through observations (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). Therefore, it follows a deductive research strategy (Blaikie, 2007). In addition to this, findings can also be tested to see if they fit into existing knowledge and feedback from other researchers or scholars (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). The emphasis on causal relationships is reduced, and the goal of the research is mainly to explain and predict social phenomena (Racher & Robinson, 2003). Postpositivism uses a modified experimental and manipulative methodology. Postpositivists have also incorporated research in a natural setting and collected situational information regarding their research. While quantitative techniques may still be used by postpositivists, some qualitative techniques have also been used by postpositivists (Guba & Lincoln, 1994).

Use of Positivism and Postpositivism in Social Research Traditionally, positivism has dominated research in the fields of social sciences such as sociology (Blaikie, 2007), psychology (Yu, 2003), and social work (Thyer, 2007) for a long time. While many aspects of positivism are still strong in contemporary social research, positivism is not a suitable term to refer to contemporary quantitative research in the social sciences (Crook & Garratt, 2005). Sociology was dominated by the positivist paradigm particularly after the Second World War but it has been heavily criticized since the 1970s (Blaikie, 2007; Gartrell & Gartrell, 2002). In fact, in some circles of sociology, positivism has been considered dead (Gartrell & Gartrell, 2002). Similarly, positivism was a dominant paradigm in psychology until the 1960s (Leahey, 1987 as cited in Yu, 2003); however, contemporary research in psychology does not use a pure positivistic research paradigm (Yu, 2003). Even though psychological research are mainly quantitative in nature, most do not share the basic assumption of the positivistic research paradigm (Yu, 2003). The rejection of positivism is mainly due to the difficulty in strictly following the basic assumptions of this paradigm, i.e., single reality, objectivity, and value-free. Based on studies in the field of education, Phillips and Burbules (2000) concluded that most practising researcher use a postpositivistic paradigm in research. The field of social work particularly in the USA was historically dominated by a positivistic orientation towards the discovery of knowledge related to the practice of social work. Now, scholars are

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emphasizing the importance of evidence based practice to intervention programs by the social workers (Thyer, 2007). Contemporary research uses mainly postpositivism because: • many studies which claim to be positivistic often use a postposivistic approach due to the difficulties in following basic assumptions of positivism. – Many studies do not share the ontological and epistemological assumptions used by positivism. • of the difficulties in using purely experimental research design. – Even in quantitative research, a survey is one of the most common research designs used by researchers. • of the use of theories that guide most research. – Many studies use hypotheses or theories to give tentative answers to guide their research. Research on disability was also dominated by the positivist research paradigm (Harris, 1971; Martin et al. 1988 as cited in Oliver, 1992). Oliver (1992) believed that this domination has produced a distorted view of disability and a simplistic view of research and social change. Due to the issues of this research paradigm, disability research has moved to a more interpretive research paradigm and a newer paradigm called the emancipatory research paradigm. Similarly, Henderson (2011) highlighted that research that is based on pure positivism and uses true experiments are rare in leisure research. It was identified that most leisure research used a postpositivist paradigm.

Conclusions Positivism was a dominant paradigm in the study of the natural and social sciences. However, contemporary research has moved from following this paradigm strictly due to the many scholarly criticism towards it. Researchers in many fields have used various other paradigms to deal with the shortcomings of positivism. Many quantitative types of research have used a postpositivist paradigm. Postpositivism share some ontological assumptions with positivism but uses modified epistemological and methodological assumptions. As a guideline to researchers, a researcher needs to understand a research paradigm. The understanding of the assumptions of a paradigm is important to decide on the epistemology and methodology that would be used by the researcher. Both methodology and epistemology will be important in the selection of a research method by the researcher. It is important to ensure that the method selected is suitable for or at least does not contradict the basic assumptions of a research paradigm. This is because the researcher’s view of reality would influence the knowledge-seeking process and the role of the researcher in the process. It would

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also determine the type of data that needs to be collected and the technique used to collect these data.

References Blaikie, N. (2000). Designing social research: The logic of anticipation. Polity Press. Blaikie, N. (2007). Approaches to social enquiry: Advancing knowledge: Polity Press. Blaikie, N. (2010). Designing social research: The logic of anticipation (2nd ed.). Polity Press. Bryman, A. (2008). Social research methods (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (wth). Sage Publications. Crook, C., & Garratt, D. (2005). The positivist paradigm in contemporary social science research. In B. Somekh & C. Lewin (Eds.), Research methods in the social sciences. Sage. Gartrell, C. D., & Gartrell, J. W. (2002). Positivism in sociological research: USA and UK (1966– 1990). British Journal of Sociology, 53(4), 639–657. https://doi.org/10.1080/000713102200002 1524 Godfrey, P. C., & Hill, C. W. (1995). The problem of unobservables in strategic management research. Strategic Management Journal, 16(7), 519–533. Grix, J. (2002). Introducing students to the generic terminology of social research. Politics, 22(3), 175–186. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9256.00173 Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994). Competing paradigms in qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (Vol. 2). Sage. Fox, N. J. (2008). Post-positivism. In L. M. Given (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of qualitative research methods (Vol. 2, pp. 659–664). Sage. Harris, A. I. (1971). Handicapped and impaired in Great Britain (Vol. 418). HM Stationery Office. Hassard, J. (1993). Sociology and organization theory: Positivism, paradigms and postmodernity. Cambridge University Press. Henderson, K. A. (2011). Post-positivism and the pragmatics of leisure research. Leisure Sciences, 33(4), 341–346. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2011.583166 Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004). Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time has come. Educational Researcher, 33(7), 14–26. Leahey, T. H. (1987). A history of psychology: Main currents in psychological thought. PrenticeHall, Inc. Martin, J., Meltzer, H., & Eliot, D. (1988). The prevalence of disability among adults. Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. Social Survey Division, HMSO. O’Hear, A. (1989). Introduction to the philosophy of science. Oxford University Press. Oliver, M. (1992). Changing the social relations of research production? Disability, Handicap & Society, 7(2), 101–114. Paul, J. L., Fowler, K., & Cranston-Gingras, A. (2007). Perspectives shaping and challenging reseach approaches in special education. In L. Florian (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of special education (pp. 175–186). Sage. Phillips, D. C., & Burbules, N. C. (2000). Postpositivism and educational research. Rowman & Littlefield. Racher, F. E., & Robinson, S. (2003). Are phenomenology and postpositivism strange bedfellows? Western Journal of Nursing Research, 25(5), 464–481. https://doi.org/10.1177/019394590325 3909

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Tashakkori, A., Teddlie, C., & Teddlie, C. B. (1998). Mixed methodology: Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches (Vol. 46). Sage. Thyer, B. A. (2007). The quest for evidence-based practice?: We are all positivists! Research on Social Work Practice, 18(4), 339–345. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731507313998 Yu, C. H. (2003). Misconceived relationships between logical positivism and quantitative research. Research Methods Forum, 2(2004), 33620–37750. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ ED452266.pdf.

Chapter 7

Critical Theory in Social Research: A Theoretical and Methodological Outlook Ashek Mahmud and Farhana Zaman

Abstract Critical theory, a multidisciplinary and multifaceted approach, was put forward to reconstruct dominant ideology by the critical task of explaining and criticizing. Contextualizing this new approach, the chapter is designed to focus on the development of social thought and its application in social research grounding on the critical theory. The discussion, drawing from many kinds of literature, depicts that critical theory as a perspective of social praxis unveils the critical reality through a detailed analysis of leading texts, pervasive conversations, social interactions, and persistent social practices. Thereby, critical theory provides insight to form ‘Critical paradigm’ and ‘Critical Realist Paradigm’ that generates ‘Ideology critique’, ‘Critical action research’, and ‘Critical Discourse Analysis’ (CDA) as the dynamic research methods. With those, researchers can explain the relationship between theory and practice linking language, ideas and social actions. By highlighting the basic characteristics of critical theory, this chapter analyses its application in the field of social research focusing on when and in which context critical theory is applied. Finally, the chapter attempts to ascertain the emancipatory function of this new approach by providing some examples of research output in connection to perpetual social problems in modern social settings. Keyword Critical theory · Critical research paradigm · Critical research methods · Social research

Introduction Critical theory is an episteme of the deconstruction of knowledge that occupies a unique place in the philosophy of social sciences for its distinctive aims, methods, theories, and forms of explanation (Bohman, 2013; Thompson, 2017). With its distinctiveness, critical theory is supposed to be constructions of the basic principles

A. Mahmud (B) · F. Zaman Department of Sociology, Jagannath University, Dhaka 1100, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_7

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which do not represent social order in the fixed form, rather it emphasizes standard social critique (Honneth, 2001). From the historical viewpoint, Russian political movements and their dynamics shape the political actions and ideological formations in instituting critical theory that occurred throughout the first decades of the twentieth century (Thompson, 2017). Originally, critical theory started its formal journey from the Frankfurt School aiming to envisage the social reality in terms of the role of the state, law, economy, religion, and culture of human life (Kellner, 1990). Institutionally, critical theory revised Marxian critique of capitalism enriched with neo-Marxian thoughts. This neo-Marxist’s thought, developed mainly by Louise Althusser, Georg Lukács, and Antonio Gramsci, strongly opposes the economic determinism of Marx’s notion that ‘base’ determines ‘superstructures’ (Ashgar, 2013). This critical evaluation of social reality foresees a new dimension of social thoughts and intellectual framework. Hence, this ideological movement goes against the predetermined economic regulation over all aspects, and so, it contributes to the crucial ideological frame known as critical theory (Thompson, 2017). The developmental phase of critical theory challenges the prevailing discourse by investigating substantial problems in modern society, and therefore, this theory has become more sociological by overcoming its dependency upon a philosophical concept of reason rooted in idealist ontology (Misgeld, 1984). Furthermore, the critical theory attempts to explain running social and economic systems, advanced technological society, and complex social relations as historical accomplishments in both capitalist and socialist frameworks in that social complexity prevails (Agger, 1991). This theory, thereby, develops a critical perspective that posits knowledge is not an end in itself rather paves the way of liberating people from popular culture-industry through the advanced form of public sphere and process of rational argumentation (Habermas, 1971; Horkheimer, 1982). Regarding this end, critical thinkers try to detect the common and inherent values of capitalism such as deepened false consciousness, commodity fetishism, and reification that contradicts people’s objective interest of liberation (Agger, 1991). With this critical investigation, the Frankfurt Institute enables to accelerate consciousness level to break the shackles of ideology through judgement, evaluation, and transformative activity. In this connection, critical theory offers a critique of instrumental rationality, fragmented social reality, cultural manipulation, and ideas of historical reflexivity that would guide to combat erosion of subjectivity (Bronner, 2017). Thus, the ideas of critical theory are complemented by its critical task of explaining and criticizing (Celikates, 2009). With the development of critical hermeneutics in a historical context, critical theory enhances the critical research process (Steinberg & Kincheloe, 2010). That means, critical hermeneutics as a developmental pathway of critical theory contributes to developing critical theory as a research paradigm, and then with the evolutionary process, a new paradigm known as critical realism (CR) paradigm emerged. Bhaskar, the founder of CR, emphasized the social ontology of discourse and epistemological sociocritical project (Flatschart, 2016). Accordingly, critical thinkers employed a variety of methods and styles of explanation that set the rudimentary principles in the mode of social research (Horkheimer, 1993).

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In this sense, with both theoretical and methodological background, critical theory has rendered a useful backup for operating critical social inquiry in both qualitative and quantitative research areas/fields (Hussain et al., 2013). Finally, the researchers successfully adopt critical theory for critical social enquiry and extracted a few typical though promising applicable research methods and tools that predominantly are ideology critique, critical action research, and critical discourse analysis (Cohen et al., 2000; Faircough, 1992). Drawing on this background, the chapter aims at revealing the contribution of critical theory to the development of social thought and its application in social research.

Definitions and Concepts of Critical Theory Since its inception, critical theory has gone through several phases with a specific focus. Primarily, critical theory is viewed from different dictionary definitions and then the scholarly definitions of critical theory are arranged from distinguished concepts. In a general sense, critical theory is meant by a thinking process where culture, ideology, and history are explained with value judgement. A dictionary of cultural and critical theory defines critical theory from both looser and strict or formal sense in such a way that Critical theory is now a more general term, under which research projects in the social sciences and/or humanities attempt to bring truth and political engagement into alignment (Payne & Barbera, 2010: 153).

Specifically, critical theory is viewed as a designation of philosophy and methodology that deals with the consensual truths, technological complexity, mystification of politics that clarifies conflicting forms of social reality and change (Friesen, 2008) (Table 7.1). The critical theory derives from the notion of critique which cannot be merely an act of judgement or resistance, but it clarifies dominant bodies of knowledge, scrutinizing the ideas inherent in the marginalization of knowledge sources, and exploring the ways of developing alternative forms of understanding (Friesen, 2008). This derivative sense of critical theory attempts to grasp in logical forms the identity of the object that is supposed to pursue thinking and examining (Fuhrman & Snizek, 1979). From the point of origin, critical theory initially starts with criticizing and explaining the changing societies as a whole in contrast to the traditional theory. Moreover, critical theory as a discourse stands against Marxism, structuralism, cultural determinism, phenomenology, disciplinary boundaries, and established sociopolitical systems (Kellner, 1990). Extensively, the critical theory emphasizes evaluating the dominance of culture under the capitalistic framework highlighting the breakdown of social order in connection with history. In this context, critical theory is oriented to making the interconnection among economic process, transformations of individual’s motive, and holistic system in the modern era (Horkheimer, 1989).

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Table 7.1 Conceptual definitions from a different point of views Core view points

Sources

Prime concepts

Conceptual gaps

An original point of view

Horkheimer (1937)

Explaining changing society as a whole

Empirical gap

Structural analytic view

Honneth (2004)

Capitalist social structure as irrational

Less ontological insight

Ontological view

Kellner (1989)

Identifying critical Epistemological diagnoses of destructive gap effects

Epistemological view Habermas (1971)

Platform of dialogue

Less emphasis on praxis

Praxiological view

Kellner (1990)

Critical activity unified with theory

Less priority to reflective guide

Reflective view

Campbell and Bunting (1991)

Reflected guide with Latent research critical ideology and guide emancipated perception

Empirical view

Bohman (2013)

Critical paradigm and methods based on explanatory and practical modules

Less priority to scientific inquiry

Source Developed by authors

As a structural analysis, Honneth draws a notion of social pathology as a distinctive critique of mainstream liberal philosophy, justice, and legitimacy through which the process of irrational formation in capitalism and domineering interest are checked (Freyenhagen, 2015). This form of social pathology includes reflexive comprehension of social order and reflexivity of social participants in culture and cognitive structures that are accompanied with the rational universal formation (Freyenhagen, 2015; Honneth, 2004). However, this structural analysis does not expose ontological insight. Focusing on ontological perspective, critical theory is asserted as a philosophical inquiry of understanding critical knowledge on a variety of social problems, whereas the objective world is comprehended, a form of thinking is designed, and comprehending as well as transforming the objective world of society, institutions, and culture are projected with the practical sense of insight (Langman, 2017; Thompson, 2017). More exclusively, critical theory is ornamented by the epistemological stance, referring that critical theory is designed to expose hidden power imbalances and enlighten agents about how they ought to act rationally to be cautious about their interests (Lather, 1986; Polifroni & Welch, 1999). To serve this purpose, critical theory has allowed developing a platform of dialogue for open communication, as advocated by Habermas, to make people aware of the power relationships within the existing social structure (Habermas, 1971). The praxiological view produces a new dimension. As per Kellner’s idea, critical theory is designed to form an epistemological stance to make people committed to emancipation from different categories of exploitation,

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domination, discursive ordering, and disciplinary transgressions in that unification of theory and practice gets way out from ideological dogma (Kellner, 1990). Besides, the reflective view suggests that critical theory provides reflective guides for human action since these theories aim at producing enlightenment, enabling inherent emancipatory interest, generating cognitive content, and offering epistemological insights (Geuss, 1981). The emancipatory approach of critical theory, as a more advanced form, shows that critical theory generates a complicated notion of emancipation with the production of an ideology of enlightenment where an agency is seen to be free from dominant ideological structure and distortions of perception about world view (Campbell & Bunting, 1991). This emancipatory view paves the way for the empirical grounding of critical theory. In this connection, critical theory is treated as an application form of research paradigm and methods based on Horkheimer’s view of explanatory, practical, and normative components (Bohman, 2013). As a result, critical theory as a new dimension of theoretical perspective contributes to fulfilling the methodological vacuum in the field of critical social enquiry and uncovered a new insight for critical social research.

‘Critical Theory’ as a Theoretical Perspective Sociological theories are conventionally approached by the functional perspective, conflict, and interactionist perspective. Since those perspectives do not deal with the hidden and multifaceted complexity involved in capitalistic and post-industrial societies, the critical theory emerged as a new perspective to reconstruct modern societies. Traditional theories, from the functionalist view, show the projection of the bourgeois model as the harmonious capitalist system that uncritically produces the idea of existing society (Kellner, 1990), while critical theory pursues to exceed disciplinary boundaries through moving towards a dialectical form of reasoning stressing the application of critical reason (Thompson, 2017). The critical theory rejects positivism and interpretative view of constructivism since those avoid critical analysis of the dialectical imagination of social facts like classlessness, racism, domination, and manipulative exploitation. Thus, critical social theorists advocate a wide range of dialogical analysis which is not only enriched with empirical insights but most importantly with critical and practical reasoning. Thereby, the critical theory emerges as a theoretical perspective for discovering social reality with ontology and rational epistemes means to diagnose social pathologies that can form a platform of social criticism and emancipatory insight (Honneth, 2004; Thompson, 2017).

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Characteristics of Critical Theory Critical theory pursues three basic features from Horkheimer, who asserts that a theory is adequately critical whether it represents three criteria all at the same time: it must be explanatory about the existing world, must have the practical purpose of change, and provides normative bases for criticism and transformation (Bohman, 2013). Most importantly, critical theory engenders critical social thought encompassing critical analysis of conventional enlightenment thought, critical rationality, critical discourse, critical pedagogy, and critical emancipation as the theoretical grounds of empirical and critical social research. Those critical insights are enriched with the ontological, epistemological, and methodological parameters (Table 7.2).

Critical Enlightenment The edifice of enlightenment highlights ideas of civil freedom, political emancipation, scientific evaluation, universal rights, the autonomous subject, and the reign of reason (Harpham, 1994). Horkheimer and Adorno (1972) as the prominent critical thinkers trace a critique of enlightenment philosophy referring to the Dialectic of Enlightenment which raised a voice against the positivist philosophy and dominant form of capitalist ideology and termed it as new mythology and ideology (Agger, 1991). Overall, Horkheimer’s critical theory is, as observed by Bohman (2013), explanatory about the current social reality that provides a critical analysis of transformation and change (Asghar, 2013). That means, the critical theory is the potential to provide a critique of the existing social order with the process of self-reflection and self-evaluation (Hoffman, 1989) to deconstruct enlightenment thought of social change.

Critical Rationality The idea of the spirit of rational calculation constructed by Cohen and the notion of instrumental rationality mentioned by Weber are associated with the rational projection of social action, in that technical means and ordering goals are coincided in modern capitalism (Holton, 1983). Conversely, for the critical theorists, instrumental rational action deteriorates the rational application of reason since the modernity project is ordained with extensive domination in the name of modernity (Thompson, 2017). That is why critical theory assumes that instrumental rationality is being perceived as the most influential element of western modernity (Steinberg & Kincheloe, 2010). Horkheimer and Adorno point out a bleak picture of modernity highlighting that the capitalist system of administration, popular mass culture, and media technology have become prime forces of mass deception (Quoted in White, 1983)

Source Arranged and developed by authors

Methodological (Procedure of Ideology critique finding out)

Critical realism and Ideology critique

Critical discourse analysis

Deconstructing Critical rationality Reconstructing enlightenment thought and subjective discourse and validity consciousness claims

Discursive life-world and distorted communicative language as core problems

Epistemological (knowledge of way out)

Critique of instrumental and technological rationality

Critical rationality Critical discourse

Critique of positivist philosophy, capitalist ideology

Critical enlightenment

Characteristics of critical theory

Ontological (Nature of problem)

Parameters

Table 7.2 Characteristics of critical theory following different parameters

Critical action research

Dialogue- and praxis-based action against oppression

disciplinary discourse and subjugated knowledge as core problems

Critical pedagogy

Transformative-emancipatory perspective, Critical action research

The public sphere, cultural revolution, critical knowledge for emancipation

Colonizing, repression, domination, manipulation as core problems

Critical emancipation

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that invades objective reasoning (Horkheimer, 1947). Thereby, the critical theorists, to break the conventional rationality, attempt to develop subjective consciousness (Agger, 1991) in the real social world through critical rationality (Marcuse, 1964).

Critical Discourse Habermas’s critique of ideology, a perspective of action theory and analysis of social systems, provides a coherent framework of critical discourse (Held, 1980). In addition to Habermas’s critical discourse, Foucault (1979) uniquely explores the theory of discourse asserting that in every point, exercise of power incites knowledge structure and knowledge assures the exercise of power (Miller, 1990). Foucault asserts that the functions of institutional discourse are not only coercive but may be constructive and beneficial for social arrangements (Miller, 1990). Using that approach, reconstructive critique represents reflexivity of discourse analysis, which can diagnose social pathologies to deliver a critique of societal conditions (Celikates, 2009). Moreover, Habermas’s projection of critical discourse is equipped with the formation of a communicative life world through using rational communicative language and stressing validity claims of propositional truth, normative rightness, subjective truthfulness, and cultural reproduction (Hoy, 1990; Ritzer, 2007).

Critical Pedagogy Pedagogical theories stem from different perspectives such as Herbart’s pedagogy of generalization, Skinner’s behaviourist learning, Piaget’s constructivist cognitive development, and transformative aspect of critical framing (Rutto, 2017). Those modern pedagogical approaches have been criticized by Foucault’s (1979) theory of ‘disciplinary discourse’ and Freire’s (1972) idea on the pedagogy of the oppressed that contribute to the development of critical pedagogy. Foucault, posited by Besley, analyses the disciplinary role of power, knowledge, and truth that are historical produced and subjectively reproduced as an object engendering ‘subjugated knowledge’ in terms of masked and marginalized knowledge (Besley, 2002; Lazaroiu, 2013). More critically, Freire’s pedagogy scrutinizes the modern education system asserting that this education turns into a banking form by which adaptive capacity to the oppressed system develops (Freire, 1972). Therefore, Freire introduces problemposing education with the critical method of dialogue in that learners can develop critical action or praxis to combat oppressive disempowerment (Freire, 1972).

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Critical Emancipation The modern idea of emancipation revolves around Weber’s enchantment, Durkheim’s moral individualism, Marx’s socialist revolution, and Giddens’ reflexivity. With the growing complexity of social structure and the global social system, neo-Marxists and critical theorists pave the way for new dimensions for public emancipation from a critical point of view. Marcuse (1964) states that the people of advanced industrial societies are becoming one dimensional, since technological rationality colonizes everyday life, robs individual and political freedom, and maintains progress based on exploitation, repression, manipulation, and destruction. Another critical thinker Habermas indicates distorted communication, the overriding role of domination, restrictions, and colonizing role of the systems over the life world are the prime obstructions of human emancipation (Quoted in Ritzer, 2007). In this regard, Marcuse (1964) postulates cultural revolution based on critical and dialectical thinking, Freire (1972) posits dialogical praxis, and Habermas (1991) proclaims democratic platforms of the public sphere that are grounded upon emancipatory interest and critical knowledge.

Application of Critical Theory in Social Research Critical theory is not only a theory but exclusively it has been a research paradigm that can pursue a way of distinguishing between reality and existence within an interlinked framework of ontology and epistemology followed by appropriate methodology and methods (Rehman & Alharthi, 2016). Substantially, the methodological framework of critical theory is highly relevant to the substantive social research context in the sense that those research designs open the door of disclosing different perspectives of interpretations and orientations and equip researchers with transformative potentials and modes of organization (Strydom, 2011). That means, critical theory broadens the space of social research intending to utilize distinctive research paradigm and dynamic research methodologies (Table 7.3).

Critical Theory as Research Paradigm Critical Paradigm The dominant paradigms (positivist and interpretive paradigm) are being challenged by the critical paradigm since critical theory nullifies agents’ perceptions to evaluate true situations focusing on the idea that critical knowledge is not universal but is created and its interpretation is grounded in the language (Campbell & Bunting, 1991). Unlike positivist and interpretive paradigm, the critical research

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Table 7.3 Application of critical theory in social research and social fields Critical research methodology

Guiding principles

Relevance to critical theory

Appropriate social fields

Critical paradigm

Reflexive-dialectic orientation, transformative perspective

Critical emancipation

Technological institution, authoritarian social order in organizations

Critical realist paradigm

Empirical-actual-real level analysis, context-based causality

Critical rationality and pedagogy

Gender behaviour at household, minority’s marginality, Covid-19 impacts

Ideology critique as method

Grounding philosophical analysis, understanding ideological distortion

Critical enlightenment

Ideas of ‘Women-empowerment’, ‘neo-liberal economy, ‘democracy’ in the capitalistic sphere

Critical action research method

Emancipatory interest, praxis: theory and practice

Critical pedagogy

Education program, nursing education, ethnographic research

Critical discourse analysis method

Text analysis, discursivepractice and social-practice analysis

Critical discourse

Management study, TV programs, political propaganda, religious sermons

Source Arranged and developed by authors

paradigm deals with studying multiple layers in social reality which are governed by hidden-underlying structures, and also this type of research is oriented to the dialectical method by which the nature of false consciousness of scientific knowledge, a false belief is hidden in power and objective conditions and unrealized misleading reification are uncovered through explanatory critique (Neuman, 2011). In another word, “critical paradigm is based on the idea that thought is essentially mediated by power relations and that data cannot be separated from ideology implying that critical research brings power relations to conscious awareness, and, by doing so, provides space for questioning and transformation” (Tracy, 2013: 42). The exclusive theme of critical research is to operate research to evaluate the nature of exploitation, unfairness, distorted communication (Tracy, 2013) by which people can replace existing social conditions with a better one (Neuman, 2011). The unique point of the critical paradigm is that critical research should have a reflexive-dialectic orientation in that subjective and objective sides are blended, and also, it follows a transformative perspective with the use of explanatory critique to show a pathway for taking ‘action’ and achieving social change (Neuman, 2011). In this regard, critical theory utilizes empirical analytic and hermeneutic methods with a view to emancipatory enlightenment (Campbell & Bunting, 1991). Following the projection of transformative and emancipatory world view, critical theory as a research paradigm deals with the research on contemporary institutional

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systems and structural social practices in which domination, fascism, manipulation, and hegemony are embedded distinctively. Callaghan (2016) reports that technological system is adapted to social and political systems that impose an authoritarian social order; and so, a critical approach to technology has received many advantages of gaining a platform for critical investigation of social research.

Critical Realist Paradigm Though Hussain et al. (2013) view that critical research is highly fitted to qualitative research designs, critical realism (CR) has gained higher acceptance as a philosophical framework in the investigation process of social sciences for its empirical potentiality to explain social contexts and situations and suggest operable strategies to recover social drawbacks (Fletcher, 2017). The critical realism paradigm utilizes the compatibility thesis of worldviews conveying impartial representations of reality (Shannon-Baker, 2016) which is grounded on Marcuse’s critique of rationality and Freire’s critical pedagogy. Moreover, the critical realist paradigm deals with the study of the changing human praxis embedded in social relations (Bhaskar, 1994), in so far, this praxis is used to refine explanation by putting theoretical understanding into real-life practices (Neuman, 2011). Substantially, critical realism is comprised of three levels; ‘the empirical level’ incorporates common-sense understanding with the empirical evidence, secondly, ‘the actual level’ insists on the factual occurrence, and ‘the real level’ conclusively explains social events by dint of causal mechanism, and following those steps, critical realism serves as a methodological framework for critical social science research (Fletcher, 2017), that can help developing theory generation, the generalizability of results as well as theoretical insights (Shannon-Baker, 2016). Bhaskar gives more emphasis on community study for utilizing the critical realist paradigm, in the sense that community is the domain of institutional disruption, and self-cultivation and hegemonic monitoring are dominant (Harvey, 2002). More practically, critical realism seeks to explain the causal mechanism shaping gender ideology both at the private and public sphere masculinization and corporatization of agriculture through the reciprocal interplay between structure and agency (Fletcher, 2017). Apart from causal analysis, critical realism tries to investigate problem analysis of the marginal social groups who are being highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries.

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Critical Theory as Research Method The critical theory offers a fundamental methodological basis for social research which is both critical and transformative (Kemmis, 2009). ‘Ideology Critique’, ‘Critical Action Research’ (Cohen et al., 2000), and ‘Critical Discourse Analysis’ (Faircough, 1995; van Dijk, 2003) are a few of the promising research tools that critical theory applies to investigate the reality and to discover the unwelcome truths in connection to appropriate social fields.

Ideology Critique Horkheimer’s view of the eclipse of reasoning through the critique of ideology (White, 1983) and his critique of the autonomy of thought as part of the enlightenment philosophy of (Horkheimer and Adorno, 1972) discloses a pathway in constructing a research tool named as ‘ideology critique’ that can help to investigate the distorted ideological character and transformative social structure. At present, a detailed account of ‘ideology critique’ as an effective tool for addressing social pathology produced by distorted collective convictions can be found in the work of Haslanger, Mills, Bianchin, Jaeggi, Celikates, and Stanley (Bianchin, 2019; Sankaran, 2019; Zaman, 2021). Ideology, that supports existing social practices blindly, is parasitic on the system of domination (Bianchin, 2019) and therefore should be remedied by ideology critique which is considered as a powerful tool of distinguishing distorted beliefs from others. Specifically, ‘semantic externalism’, as a technique of ideology critique can reframe the conventional ones to produce anticonvention (Haslanger and Haslanger, 2012). By this research tool, the researcher seeks to have a deeper understanding of the distorted convictions and the process of masking social pathologies, set of social beliefs, intersubjective meanings and shared understandings, existing social arrangements, and epistemic injustice and domination (Sankaran, 2019; Zaman, 2021). Eventually, ideology critique as a research method predominates the field of critical social research by providing meaningful as well as a rational remedy for existing epistemic injustices and corresponding social pathologies (Celikates, 2017; Zaman, 2021). With the specific point of view, Haslanger (2017) argues that the systematic structure of oppression, injustice, slavery, racist practice, and gender exploitation need to be analysed by ideology critique. Following Horkheimer’s ideology critique of the enlightenment project, the modern and hegemonic ideas of ‘women empowerment, ‘neo-liberal economy’ under the capitalist system, and political ideas of ‘democracy’ under the imperialist system are to be the substantial arena for ideology critique.

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Critical Action Research Freire’s (1972) praxiological approach of dialogue and Habermas’s (1991) emancipatory approach to the public sphere builds a platform of critical action research. This kind of action research is informed by the emancipatory interests and is conducted to investigate reality to transform reality and to investigate it (Borda, 1979). Thereby, critical action research is a tool of closing the gap between abstract theoretical knowledge and applied practical understanding. This research is considered to be both reflexive and a reflection on reality (Robertson, 2000) that is characterized by a process of participation as thinking social beings directed by emancipatory interests for the sake of producing new practicing with a lot of challenges (Tripp, 1990). Based on Habermas’s (1972) concept of knowledge-constitutive interests, critical action research is thus committed with an aim of liberating people from irrationality, unjust social practices, and suffering, not like the improving and educating objective of technical and practical action research (Kemmis, 2009). The development of this empowering approach to critical action research can be found at the heart of neo-Marxist critical ethnography, feminist research, and Freirean participatory research (Lather, 1986). This form of action research resonates with the theoretical framework of critical pedagogy that encourages critical judgement, a sense of social responsibility, and public commitment and accountability (Giroux, 2001). Like Freire, Oakes et al. (2015) underscore critical action research on education programmes to help challenge the oppressing social structures, and therefore, the emancipatory and praxiological attitude of action research needs to be oriented to invest critical research on the predominant educational system in different fields.

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) Discourse analysis is a relatively recent approach applied in a variety of disciplines to examine the systematic bodies of knowledge. Historically, discourse analysis is informed by Foucault’s concept of power relationships expressed through language and discourse (Luke, 1999) and also by Habermas’s theory of knowledge-constitutive interests in which social life is constructed by language, work, and power (Kemmis, 2009). Besides linguistic analysis, CDA, as a research method, also stems from critical social theory for understanding ideologies within a social context of power relations (Fairclough, 1995; Wodak and Meyer, 2001). CDA is grounded upon a triangulated theoretical framework showing the interrelationship among discourse, cognitive, and society (van Dijk, 2009). More specifically, it focuses on a complex relationship between society and text as well as power and discourse (van Dijk, 2006). Therefore, CDA aims to perceive the ideological structure which is endorsed by those in power and set out to study how the powerful use language to maintain their authority (Rehman & Alharthi, 2016). In a broad range, critical discourse analysis denotes study on discursive practices, text, talk,

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social opinion within wider sociocultural and political structures (Fairclough, 1995) to investigate how such practices being interlinked with power structure shape the way of producing general ideology for different social groups (Locke, 2004). With this process, according to Fairclough (1995), discourse analysis is comprised of text analysis as descriptive, discursive practice analysis as interpretative, and social practice analysis as explanatory. As part of the application, Zhang (2014) used CDA in examining newspaper reports covering text, content, and context that highlights positive ideology for the Bush administration as a saviour and negative ideology for the Iraqi Govt. as the enemy for mankind. CDA is also applied in analysing media advertisement of beauty products (Iqbal et al., 2014) and the ideology construction and political propaganda against Iran’s nuclear weapon by America (Behnam & Mahmoudy, 2013). That evidence suggests that critical discourse analysis can be potentially applied to the social fields associated with themes like; linguistic analysis of TV advertisement and diverse cultural programmes telecasted by corporate TV channels, linguistic and cultural meaning of political propaganda both nationally and internationally, and linguistic and ideological meaning of Facebook posting in social media.

Conclusions The critical theory largely relies on social sciences and burdens these sciences with the task of liberating society from unfair ideologies constructed within power relations. Distorted ideology produces an identity crisis by restricting the opportunities of clarifying genuine needs and desires for a better experience of fulfilment (Alvesson & Willmott, 1992). Considering this enlightenment tradition and emancipatory goal, this chapter attempts to sketch out the potentials of critical theory and its implications in the research field of social science. The chapter shows that critical theory, by developing critical paradigm and critical realist paradigm, seeks to deal with the complex milieu and attempts to offer essentially rational explanations of social affairs at various levels in which human praxis is embedded. Thus, critical theory, in its various forms, has achieved scientific rigour and philosophical insight in contemporary social research context by disclosing new windows of possibilities utilizing effective methods. Exclusively, the critical theory associated with the methodological framework is found highly relevant to the critical endowment of ideological, transformative, and emancipatory potentials. Being enriched with meta-dynamic approaches of critical theory, ‘ideology critique’, ‘critical action research’, and ‘critical discourse analysis, as prime research methods, employ a variety of techniques and tools for social research covering multiple disciplines of social science fields that are needed to be reexamined for redefining the existing policies perpetuating the multifaceted power relations and thereby transforming those to reclaim a liberal and emancipated society. By doing so, critical researchers incredibly contribute to reuniting the theorizing power of critical theory and the methodological power of critical paradigm that lays out the

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interconnections between ideology and research to achieve emancipatory agenda making a great appeal to become more critical in scientific social inquiry.

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Chapter 8

Narrative Inquiry, Phenomenology, and Grounded Theory in Qualitative Research Rabiul Islam and Md. Sayeed Akhter

Abstract Narrative inquiry, phenomenology, and grounded theory are the basic types of qualitative research. This chapter discusses the three major types of qualitative research—narrative inquiry, phenomenology, and grounded theory. Firstly, this chapter briefly discusses the issue of qualitative research and types. Secondly, it offers a conceptual understanding of narrative inquiry, phenomenology, and grounded theory including their basic characteristics. Finally, the chapter provides an outline of how these three types of qualitative research are applied in the field. Keywords Narrative inquiry · Phenomenology · Grounded theory · Qualitative research

Introduction Qualitative research is an advanced process of systematic investigation with its assumptions, philosophical foundations, and interpretive frameworks (Creswell, 2012; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). It became popular in the fields of social and behavioural sciences, especially when sociologists, psychologists, and anthropologists were asking questions about people’s lives, their behaviours, and sociocultural contexts in which they lived (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Instead of measuring social phenomena by numbers, qualitative research is concerned with gaining an in-depth understanding of a social phenomenon, people’s life, and their behaviour. The key concern of qualitative inquiry is to understand the phenomenon of interest through the eyes of the people being studied. The subject matter of social science is different from natural science. People are capable to understand their experience and the environment where they live (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016; Patton, 2014). Qualitative R. Islam (B) Department of Social Work, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh and Macquarie School of Social Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia e-mail: [email protected] Md. Sayeed Akhter Department of Social Work, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_8

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research is a very helpful process of exploring complex research areas of human behaviour and their environment, where very little is known through quantitative research (Patton, 2014). Different fields and disciplines pose diverse research questions to investigate people, their behaviour, and their social environment; consequently, different approaches to qualitative research have evolved. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) noted that there are six different types of qualitative research, such as (a) basic qualitative research, (b) phenomenology, (c) ethnography, (d) grounded theory, (e) narrative inquiry, and (f) case studies. Creswell (2007) mentioned five types of qualitative research, such as (a) narrative study, (b) phenomenology, (c) grounded theory, (d) ethnographic study, and (e) case study. Among these types, the current chapter focuses on the three types, e.g., narrative inquiry, phenomenology, and grounded theory.

Narrative Inquiry Narrative inquiry is a methodology based on storytelling. It collects, analyses, presents the story of individual’s lives, and narrates their lived experiences. The word ‘narrative’ comes from the verb “to narrate” or “to tell in detail”. A narrative inquiry typically aims at investigating a single person through gathering their personal stories, documenting personal experiences, and addressing the meaning of those experiences (Creswell, 2012). The narrative study is also a method of understanding and investigating an individual’s experiences through “collaboration between researcher and participants, over time, in a place or series of places, and social interaction with milieus” (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, p. 20). Encyclopaedia of Research Design (2010) defines narrative research as a story of a sequence of events. In narrative research, events are described as the needs of a narrator to convey the key message that a narrator wants to convey. The narrative is a way of exploring people’s actions and organizing their personal experiences into a meaningful whole (Josselson, 2010). Based on the above discussion, narrative research can be defined as an approach that relies on the written or spoken words or visual statement of an individual’s experiences, their lives, and own stories. In a narrative inquiry, when an individual tells stories to a researcher, they feel honoured, and their shared stories take researchers nearer to the actual practice of qualitative research (Creswell, 2012). Researchers begin narrative inquiry when participants are inclined to share their stories and researchers want to investigate and present their stories. Storytelling is one of the common parts of people’s lives, which they have achieved from their experiences that they want to share with others. In this way, narrative study grasps a standard form of data that is familiar to the participants (Creswell, 2012).

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Components of Narrative Inquiry Time, place, plot, and scene, as well as rewriting the stories in chronological sequence, are considered as the components of narrative inquiry. Key elements can also be the setting, character, action, problem, and resolution, which provide background information to the researcher on a story. Josselson (2010) mentioned that narrative research has three components, such as a starting (a story should have a clear beginning, where an individual provides background information of a story), a middle (where an individual provides a detailed description/information of a story), and an end (where an individual provides a concluding statement of a story). The narrative inquiry follows this sequence of a story through orienting, describing, and concluding so that a reader and a listener can easily understand the whole story (Josselson, 2010).

Characteristics of Narrative Inquiry Narrative inquiry has several common characteristics. According to Creswell (2012), the key characteristics of narrative research are as follows.

Focusing Individual Experiences Narrative researchers are interested to focus on individuals’ experiences. These experiences include personal, social, and interaction of individuals with others. The narrative researchers consider ‘individual experience’ as a ‘looking lens’ to understand a person. This experience is a continuous process, as one experience leads to another experience.

Organizing the Experiences The researchers use a chronological sequence or chronology of events to organize the participants’ life histories and experiences, for example, an individual’s past and present experiences and future understanding of a particular event.

Using Various Sources to Collect Individual Stories The researchers encourage people to share their stories to have a better understanding of the chronological perspective of their experiences. Narrative researchers

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collect individuals’ stories through various sources, such as interviews, discussions, autobiographies, field notes, family stories, photographs.

Restoring Through restoring process, narrative researchers gather stories and analyse them based on time, place, plot, and scene. When an individual tells a story, the sequence of experience is often absent or not rationally organized. The investigator presents a chronological sequence and links up ideas during rewriting the story. There are three stages to restore, such as: transcribing the conversation, coding the raw data, and restoring the raw data based on codes.

Coding In a narrative inquiry, researchers analyse data to identify the code of data collected in the form of stories. The researchers also find the similarities among the initially coded data and organize it into themes. In this regard, the researchers identify a few themes (five to seven) and integrate these themes into the story of the individual. Narrative researchers typically present these themes during retelling the story. For example, to know the life history of a drug-addicted individual, the themes may be ‘types of used drugs’, ‘duration of taking drugs’, ‘causes of addiction’, ‘health impact of addiction’, etc.

Describing the Context The narrative researchers describe the setting or context of individual experiences. The setting may be the friends, family, workplace, home, community organizations, and educational institutes, where an individual’s story occurs.

Collaborating with Participants The narrative investigations collaborate with the study participants. Collaboration refers to creating a relationship between the researchers and the participants for reducing the gap between the individual’s story and the researcher’s report.

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Box 8.1 Key characteristics of narrative research. ● Individual’s experiences on personal and social interaction. ● Chronology of experiences of an individual—past and present. ● Life stories of an individual—collected through conversations, interviews, field notes, etc. ● Restorying—rewriting the individuals’ story in a chronological sequence. ● Coding the field notes to form themes or categories. ● Context or setting—describing the setting of individual experiences. ● Collaboration between the researchers and individuals to reduce gap between story and restory.

How Narrative Inquiry is Used in Qualitative Research Narrative research explores the personal experiences of individuals to understand their lives and livelihoods. Using narrative inquiry in qualitative research, the researchers follow several steps. According to Creswell (2012), there are seven steps usually used during a narrative study.

Identifying a Problem For narrative inquiry, the researcher needs to identify an issue for a study, which allows the researcher to understand the individual or social experiences of a person. For example, a research issue may be the vulnerability of a cyclone-affected individual, where ‘cyclone vulnerability’ is a research problem.

Selecting Participants The narrative researchers must select one or more participants on the research problem. Generally, narrative inquiry studies only one individual; however, several individuals may be studied as well. For example, selecting an individual who can provide an understanding of the issue (e.g., cyclone vulnerability). Therefore, it is crucial to identify an individual based on their experiences on a specific research problem.

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Collecting Story The narrative researchers collect information from the participants on a research problem. At this stage, the participants verbally share their stories through conversations or interviews. Field notes also provide important data about the participants. A story can also be collected from field journals or diary notes, photographs, and friends or family members of individuals. For example, a researcher can collect information on cyclone vulnerability from a cyclone victim, from their family members and friends, photographs of damaged shelter, roads, and water sources to understand the physical vulnerability of the affected areas.

Retelling Story After examining the raw data, identifying, and sequencing the prime elements, the researchers retell the story of participants’ experiences. Restoring assists the reader to understand the story coherently.

Collaborating with the Participants The narrative researchers collaborate with the participants so that they can accurately describe their experiences. In this regard, the researcher helps the storyteller by asking questions on the story based on study themes (e.g., cyclone vulnerability).

Writing a Story The narrative researchers write a story of an individual’s experiences through highlighting specific themes of interviews. They also include sections in the story for a better understanding of the readers. For example, a section may include the physical, health, and income vulnerabilities of a cyclone-affected individual.

Validating Report Accuracy The narrative researchers also need to confirm the trustworthiness of the report, because a credible study report is indispensable to preserve the story. Consulting with participants and searching for disconfirming evidence, the researchers ensure the credibility of the story.

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Phenomenology Long ago, in 1781, Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, coined the term phenomenology in his classic work “Critique of Pure Reason”, where the author claims that the general principles of nature that structure all of our experiences are derived from human understanding (Groenewald, 2004). However, the term ‘phenomenology’ got popular in qualitative research by Edmund Husserl (considered as the father of phenomenology) in the first half of the twentieth century (PadillaDíaz, 2015). The word ‘phenomenology’ derives from Greek, which means “apparition or manifestation”. It is characterized as the philosophy which explains being and consciousness based on the analysis of observable phenomena (Padilla-Díaz, 2015). Creswell (2007) argued that phenomenology emphasizes the commonality of the lived experience of a group of individuals. Phenomenological research explores the meaning of a concept or a phenomenon from the perspective of several individuals. The researchers build up the general meaning of an event or experience and provide a more thoughtful understanding of the phenomenon through a phenomenological approach. While narrative research reports the life of a single individual, phenomenological research describes the lived experience of several individuals on a phenomenon (Creswell, 2007). The central aim of phenomenological research is to reach a description of the nature of the phenomenon. In phenomenological research, interviews are conducted with a group of people who have direct knowledge of an event, condition, or experience. The interviews attempt to find out the answer to two broad questions, such as: ‘what’ they experienced and ‘how’ they experienced it (i.e., what contexts have influenced their experiences of the phenomenon). Along with interviews, other forms of data collection tools, such as document study, observations, and art (painting, sculpture) have also been used in phenomenological research. The researchers read and reread the collected data and group them as the study themes while conducting phenomenological research (Creswell, 2007).

Characteristics of Phenomenological Research Based on the above conceptual discussion, the key characteristics of phenomenological research are mentioned as follows. (a) Individuals’ lived experiences are the prime concern of phenomenological research. (b) The phenomenological researchers construct a universal meaning of an experience and reach a thoughtful understanding of the phenomenon. (c) In this research, interviews are conducted with a group of people who have direct knowledge of an event. (d) It tends to collect data of unobservable circumstances (e.g., individual thoughts and experiences) from the participants.

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(e) It can be applied to single cases, which may be unanticipated or purposively sampled.

Box 8.2 Key characteristics of phenomenological research. ● ● ● ● ●

Lived experiences of individuals. A thoughtful understanding of the phenomenon. Individuals’ first-hand knowledge of an event. Collect data of unobservable circumstances. Sample may be unanticipated or purposive.

Types of Phenomenological Research There are different viewpoints in phenomenology, which are aligned into two main groups, such as descriptive and interpretative phenomenology. However, in comparison to descriptive phenomenology, interpretative phenomenology is the most commonly used approach in qualitative research. These two types of phenomenological research are discussed below.

Interpretative/Hermeneutic Phenomenology Interpretative phenomenology is also familiar with hermeneutic phenomenology. Due to its impermanence, hermeneutic phenomenology is a little more complicated than descriptive phenomenology. ‘Time’ is an important factor in an interpretative phenomenology, while ‘time’ is not a factor in descriptive phenomenology. Hermeneutics is a process of bringing out the hidden human behaviour and experiences and finding out the meaning in their life practices (Creswell, 2007). The spirits of conscious human experiences are the focus of descriptive phenomenological research, whereas hermeneutic phenomenological research is based on overall human experiences instead of what they experience and understand consciously. In hermeneutic phenomenology, the researchers interpret the meanings that were found to the phenomena. It uses individuals lived experiences to gain an in-depth understanding of the sociocultural, political, and historical settings in which it occurs. The hermeneutic investigation mostly emphasizes the meaning and understanding of how historically and socially conditioned individuals view reality in a specific setting. For instance, a phenomenological inquire of cyclone victims lived experiences in selected villages of coastal Bangladesh.

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Descriptive Phenomenology Descriptive phenomenology was developed by Husserl in 1970. It is the knowledge of humans’ experiences. In descriptive phenomenology, the researchers overpass their insight during research so that they can grasp the essence of the individuals’ experiences while not being biased (Husserl, 1970). This approach holds the view that the insight of researchers can be associated with notions and judgments to a certain level. This suggests that descriptive phenomenologists believe that by reducing interpretation, they may emphasize phenomenological clarity (Lester, 1999), though it is based on individuals’ experiences and perceptions of certain phenomena. Descriptive phenomenology is a combination between the “noema” (what experience) and the “noesis” (how it is experienced) (Husserl, 1970; Sloan & Bowe, 2014). Rassi and Shahabi (2015) understand the “noema” as an ‘act’ and “noesis” as the ‘content of an act’. For example, the experience of ‘physical vulnerability of cyclone-affected individuals is their ‘noema’, and they perceived the vulnerability through ‘long struggling life’ with cyclone disaster as their ‘noesis’.

How Phenomenology is Used in Qualitative Research Phenomenological research aims to explore how participants understand certain phenomena since different individuals hold different points of view. The phenomenological study depends on people’s experiences; it advocates collecting rich information through qualitative methods (Lester, 1999). The phenomenological researchers employ several procedures during the study. Creswell (2007) proposed some procedures of phenomenological research, such as (a) the researchers should understand the philosophical perspectives behind the approach as well as have a clear idea about study concept; (b) the researchers asked individuals to describe their everyday lived experience on a phenomenon; (c) the researcher collects data from individuals through long interviews; (d) data analysis follows a protocol, e.g., information divided into statements, information transformed into clusters, and finally, making a general description of the experience; and finally (e) the researchers produce a report ending with the invariant structure of the experience for better understanding of readers. Lester (1999) suggested some steps of conducting phenomenological research, such as the study should have a specific aim and a detailed method to achieve the aim. It follows data collection (through the semi-structured interview), data organization into themes, data analysis, reporting, making a summary according to themes, discussion, and implication of findings. Groenewald (2004) also advised the following procedure to conduct a phenomenological study, such as: selecting a topic, study problem and paradigm, locating the research participants/informants, identifying data-gathering methods, selecting

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data-storing methods (through audio-record), analysing data, validating data, and summarizing findings. Aspers (2009) mentioned the seven steps of empirical phenomenology, such as: (i) define research question, (ii) conduct a pilot study, (iii) choose a theory, (iv) first-order construction (interpretation of participants’ common sense in their own words), (v) second-order construction (interpretation of participants’ common sense in researchers’ words), (vi) check for unintended consequences, and (vii) relate the findings to the scientific literature and the empirical study. Based on the literature, the common steps of applying phenomenological research are: identifying a research problem, determining study aims/questions, choosing data collection tools, collecting data, coding data, analysing data, validating the study findings, preparing a report, and finally summarizing findings and showing the implication of findings. The application of a phenomenological study can be explained through an example, a study on lived experiences of cyclone vulnerability of coastal villages in Bangladesh. In this research, the researchers should have a personal understanding of cyclone vulnerability. A phenomenological researcher must set participants’ themes to collect data on cyclone vulnerability from the affected individuals. Participants’ themes include the nature of the vulnerability, daily living needs of coastal people, managing vulnerability, acceptable survival techniques/coping strategies, institutional help, and service needed to reduce the vulnerability, etc. A phenomenological methodology is the most suitable approach for this research because it enables the researcher to “understand the meaning of cyclone vulnerability” that participants described based on their experiences, feelings, beliefs, and assumptive future. Therefore, the researcher must engage in face-to-face interactions with those who are affected by the cyclone to gain a better understanding of the perspectives.

Grounded Theory Grounded theory is a well-known methodology of qualitative research. In a general sense, grounded theory research is a systematic and scientific qualitative design that generate theories from data. Its prime concern is to construct theory from systematically collected and analysed data (Chun Tie et al., 2019). When an existing theory does not address any social process concerned with people or researchers need an extensive theory to explain a process, then the grounded theorists employ a grounded theory study design (Creswell, 2012). The ground theory derives from a theory that is grounded in the data. These data are systematically gathered from the field and analysed through a systematic process. In this methodology, data collection, data analysis, and ultimate theory building are closely related to one another (Corbin & Strauss, 2014). Charmaz (2006) defines grounded theory as “a method of conducting qualitative research that focuses on creating conceptual frameworks or theories through building inductive analysis from the data”. Birks and Mills (2015) defined that grounded theory as a study procedure

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by which theory is constructed through analysing field data. They opined that theories are not discovered, rather constructed by the researchers through their observation of the real world (Cf., Chun Tie et al., 2019). An important definition of grounded theory is given by Creswell (2012); the author defined grounded theory as a process of a qualitative study that is applied to generate a theory. In the broader sense, grounded theory is characterized as a process, an action, or an interaction about a substantive topic. Hence, in grounded theory research, the theory is a “process”, which explains an event, activities, action, and interaction that occurs over time. Therefore, grounded theorists research by following a set of steps that includes gathering data, identifying categories, connecting them to find core categories, and formulating a theory that explains the process (Creswell, 2012). Based on the above discussion, a grounded theory can be defined as a methodology of developing a ‘theory’ that is grounded in data.

Characteristics of Grounded Theory The ability to generate a theory that is grounded in the data is one of the fundamental characteristics of grounded theory research. Creswell (2012) mentioned six characteristics of grounded theory.

Process Approach A process approach is a series of actions and interactions between people and events that are related to a subject. For example, AIDS prevention, achievement assessment of AIDS campaign, or awareness among the students on AIDS. In all these topics, researchers can separate and categorize actions and interactions among students. Researchers set the categories based on the study themes and basic information and follow a process to use this information.

Theoretical Sampling Theoretical sampling means the researchers choose the data collection tools from the available alternatives (e.g., interviews, observations, focus groups, field journals, etc.) which will be useful to generate a theory. This indicates that the sampling in grounded theory should be focused on theory generation. For example, when a grounded theorist intends to know ‘children’s choice of a school’, children and their parents are worth participants for in-depth interviews as they are highly engaged with selecting a school and can provide data as an actual informer. The grounded theorist should start to interview students and their parents, who choose schools.

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Constant Comparative Data Analysis The researchers, in grounded theory, are engaged with collecting data, coding the data into sub-categories and categories, gathering additional data, and with the constant comparison between the new evidence and categories already emerged during the data analysis. Such a procedure of gradually developing the categories of information is called the constant comparative process. Constant comparison is an inductive process of data analysis, which generates and connects categories by comparing incidents within the data to other incidents, then incidents to categories and categories to other categories. The overarching goal here is to “ground” the categories in the data.

A Core Category The grounded theorist selects a core category from the major categories. After identifying numerous categories, the researcher “selects” a core category for generating theory. This selection is based on certain important factors, e.g., its association with other categories, its frequency of occurrence, its consistency, its quick and easy saturation (i.e., researchers easily reach a point in their analysis), and its clear implications for the development of theory. For example, “developing university curriculum” includes several issues, e.g., context (degree of faculty, duration of study programme, student participation, socioeconomic and political conditions), discipline (social science, science, or business), the content of the curriculum, market demand of graduates, concerned authority to design and approve curriculum (e.g., relevant discipline, academic committee, faculty, university academic council), etc. The whole process of developing a curriculum follows several systematic “stages”. In this context, the ‘core category’ of developing a university curriculum is “stages”.

Theory Generation Theory generation is a key characteristic of grounded theory. The entire process of grounded theory leads to generating a “theory” based on collected data. This “theory” is an explanation of a process about a social phenomenon that is grounded in the data. For example, if the data of a “disaster resilience study” reveals that the households having strong financial conditions are more resilient than the households having weak financial conditions. The data indicate that ‘disaster resilience’ depends on economic conditions of households, i.e., the ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ factor works to be or not to be resilient, which may be linked to the Marxist theory of ‘class difference’ (i.e., ‘rich’ vs ‘poor’). At the same time, based on the resilient ‘capacity’ of poor and rich households, this data may be linked with the ‘capability approach’ of Sen (1999) and Nussbaum (2000).

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Memos The grounded theorists create memos during fieldwork and analysing data. Memos are notes that the researcher keeps during the study process to expand their ideas about the data. In memos, the researchers explore their guesses, ideas, and thoughts and then take them apart. Memos directly help researchers towards new sources of data, increase the effectiveness of data, and develop further research ideas.

Box 8.3 Key characteristics of grounded theory ● Grounded theory follows a process approach, where a sequence of actions and interactions among people and events is taken. ● It follows a theoretical sampling, where the researchers choose appropriate data collection tools from the available alternatives. ● It selects a core category for theory generation. ● It maintains a constant comparative data analysis process through collecting and sorting data. ● Grounded theory leads to generate a theory. ● The grounded theory researchers create memos about the data.

How Grounded Theory is Used in Qualitative Research In grounded theory research, the theory is derived from data. These data are gathered from the field and analysed through a systematic research process. Grounded theory is used when existing theories do not address the researcher’s problem that they intend to study. According to Creswell (2012), the researchers are engaged with several procedures to conduct a grounded theory research—such as: (a) deciding suitability—a researcher decides whether a grounded theory is best suited to address the selected research problem or not; (b) identifying process—based on the research problem and questions, a researcher identifies a tentative process to use grounded theory; (c) seeking approval and access—the researchers obtain an approval from the relevant institutions (e.g., ethical approval from university, industry, etc.); (d) conducting theoretical sampling—a researcher selects the data collection tools from the available alternatives (e.g., interviews, observations, focus groups, field journals, etc.); (e) coding the data—a researcher codes the raw data to run thematical analysis; (f) developing theory—a researcher develops a theory based on collected data; (g) validating theory—the researchers validates the developed theory with existing practices found in literature; and (h) writing a research report—at final stage, the researchers write a report based on the structure of grounded theory study (Creswell,

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2012). Therefore, grounded theory is a well-known method of qualitative investigation, which aims to generate theory from data. Hence, to fulfil this aim, a grounded theory researcher should follow the systematic steps to conduct the study.

Conclusions Qualitative research is an advanced field of study. The key aim of this chapter was to discuss the three major types of qualitative research—narrative inquiry, phenomenology, and grounded theory. This chapter firstly provided a brief discussion on qualitative research, its philosophical foundations, and types. Secondly, it provided a conceptual understanding of narrative inquiry, phenomenology, and grounded theory including their basic characteristics. Finally, this chapter discussed an analysis of how these three types of qualitative research are applied in the field.

References Aspers, P. (2009). Empirical phenomenology: A qualitative research approach (The Cologne Seminars). Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 9(2), 1–12. Birks, M., & Mills, J. (2015). Grounded theory: A practical guide. Sage. Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. Thousand Oaks. Chun Tie, Y., Birks, M., & Francis, K. (2019). Grounded theory research: A design framework for novice researchers. SAGE Open Medicine, 7, 1–8. Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (2000). Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in qualitative research. Jossey-Bass. Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2014). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Sage Publications. Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Sage. Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative research. Pearson Education Inc. Groenewald, T. (2004). A phenomenological research design illustrated. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 3(1), 42–55. Husserl, E. (1970). Logical investigations (Vol. 1). Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. Josselson, R. (2010). Narrative research. In N. J. Salkind (Ed.), Encyclopedia of research design (Vol. 1). Sage. Lester, S. (1999). An introduction to phenomenological research. Stan Lester Developments. Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Jossey-Bass. Nussbaum, M. C. (2000). Women and human development: The capabilities approach. Cambridge University Press. Padilla-Díaz, M. (2015). Phenomenology in educational qualitative research: Philosophy as science or philosophical science. International Journal of Educational Excellence, 1(2), 101–110. Patton, M. Q. (2014). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice. Sage publications.

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Rassi, F., & Shahabi, Z. (2015). Husserl’s phenomenology and two terms of Noema and Noesis. International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, 53, 29–34. Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford University Press. Sloan, A., & Bowe, B. (2014). Phenomenology and hermeneutic phenomenology: The philosophy, the methodologies, and using hermeneutic phenomenology to investigate lecturers’ experiences of curriculum design. Quality & Quantity, 48(3), 1291–1303.

Chapter 9

Pragmatism Md. Rafiqul Islam

Abstract Social scientists have been able to abandon the dilemma of choosing methodology from a selection of either qualitative or quantitative, with the development of pragmatism in social research. Pragmatism as a worldview has helped researchers to combine both the qualitative and quantitative methodologies for conducting social research. Therefore, pragmatism is a nascent topic of scholarly attention in social science research. This chapter is, thus, an attempt to highlight the definition, development, and major characteristics of pragmatism. This chapter will also explain how pragmatism supports a mixed-method approach in social science research. Keywords Worldview · Social science · Positivism · Constructivism · Quantitative · Qualitative and mixed-methods · Pragmatism · Paradigm

Introduction In research methods, four worldviews have been developed at different times to investigate and explore the truth from a social setting, which is now a part of the fundamental theoretical foundations for conducting research. These are—positivism, post-positivism, constructivism, and pragmatism. Although pragmatism is the latest annexation in the social science research worldview, it is an old philosophical idea developed in the nineteenth century. Currently, pragmatism is studied in social science research to examine social problems through multiple angles and using various social science theories. It is also studied in social research for avoiding confusion in methodology selection and combine both qualitative and quantitative approaches for addressing complex research questions. This is of note that social research since its development has been dominated either by positivism or constructivism for conducting research (Burrell & Morgan, 1979). The positivism paradigm deals with quantitative methodology; on the contrary, the constructivism approach Md. R. Islam (B) Department of Peace and Conflict, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_9

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deals with the qualitative methodology. This methodological division has given rise to long debates and discussions of what specific methodology is appropriate for conducting research. Therefore, Tashakkori and Teddlie (1998) have argued that debates and discussions on methodological paradigms are unproductive and waste time among the researchers (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998). Due to the complexity of methodology selection and attaining validity of research, some researchers have suggested a ‘pragmatic paradigm’ that proposed a mixed-method to bridge the gap between two methodological schools and reduce debate among the researchers. At present, the pragmatic paradigm is the most popular theoretical understanding that proposes mixed-methods as a vibrant methodology to conduct studies on complex social problems. In this chapter, I will first define what pragmatism is. Secondly, this chapter will highlight the development of pragmatism in social science research with major characteristics. Finally, this chapter will mention how pragmatism as worldview support mixed-method research.

Definition of Pragmatism In the academic arena, Philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce introduced the concept of pragmatism in 1878 in his article ‘How to make our ideas clear’ (Beart, 2004). After Pierce, some philosophers, such as William James, John Dewey, Chauncey Wright, and George Herbert Mead advanced pragmatic philosophy to address the social and political problems in the USA. At the beginning of the twentieth century, pragmatism has emerged as one the most influential philosophical ideas in America. Scholars and researchers in different disciplines, e.g., law, education, politics, philosophy, social theory, art, and science applied the pragmatism approach as important tools for exploring knowledge and analysing situations (West, 1989). In a general sense, pragmatism is a philosophical development that emphasizes the experiences of life and believes that there is no abstract idea of life; rather, every problem in life is practical. Therefore, the problem in everyday life should be explored from experimental and practical perspectives to understand the problem comprehensively. Pragmatism as a philosophical idea is understood in different perspectives, as Alberstein (2002) argued, “Pragmatism as a theory of human behaviour represent human as a problem-solving organism; as a theory of knowledge holds suspect claims for truth, and as a moral prescription promotes an optimistic vision of people as creators of their reality” (Alberstein, 2002). The Oxford International Dictionary defines pragmatism as pragmatic, ‘dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on the practical rather than the theoretical’. The Oxford International Dictionary also means pragmatism as “an approach that evaluates theories or beliefs in terms of the success of their practical application”. Merriam-Webster Learner’s Dictionary defines pragmatism as “a reasonable and logical way of doing things or of thinking about problems that are based on dealing with specific situations instead of on ideas and theories”. On the other hand, the Cambridge English Dictionary defines pragmatism as an issue “based on practical judgements rather than principles”.

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In social science, researchers have applied pragmatism as an alternative, modified, and practical research paradigm, which is generally considered as the philosophical foreshadowing of mixed-methods research. Based on its origin and development, pragmatism is most notably considered as the ‘American Pragmatism’. Beyond its philosophical attachment, social and behavioural science researchers have endeavoured to define pragmatism to fit into the social sciences for addressing social problems. In a simple sense, pragmatism is defined as a worldview that sees the real social problem and seeks to apply multi-methods to answer research questions and address the problems from different angles. Pragmatism helps to study social problems practically and presuppose a composite set of measurements to solve those problems. Pragmatism believes that science should serve humanity and reveal the human problem practically. Teddile and Tashakkori (2003) have defined pragmatism as: A deconstructive paradigm that debunks concepts such as ‘truth’ and ‘reality and focuses instead on ‘what works’ as the truth regarding the research questions under investigation. Pragmatism is a paradigm that rejects either/or choices associated with the paradigm wars, advocates for the use of mixed research methods, and acknowledges that the values of the researcher play a large role in the interpretation of the result (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003, p. 713).

Creswell (2009) defines pragmatism as: Pragmatism as a worldview arises out of actions, situations, and consequences rather than antecedent conditions. It does not solely focus on the method, but the emphasis on the problem and use all approaches available to understand the research problem (Creswell, 2009, p. 10).

Hammersly (1989) argues that, Pragmatism is firmly in the empirical and experimental research philosophy which does not support the metaphysical presumptions of rationalism, but firmly focus on how humans adapt to their environment by incorporating new experiences during their practice, itself a starting point and terminus for knowledge (Hammersley, 1989, pp. 45–46).

The definitions provided above are based on the social research methodology. These definitions do not provide a holistic idea of pragmatism as a philosophy. Rather, these definitions have highlighted the issue of how pragmatism has been defined in mixed-method research. Moreover, pragmatism is a comprehensive term that is used in different disciplines in different ways. Therefore, the above definitions have ignored the comprehensive meaning of pragmatism. In sum, pragmatism is a blending of methodological understandings that believes in the present situation and environment for exploring the problems and links both theory and practice to achieve more acceptable results in social research. Pragmatism provides freedom and choices to the researchers to look into social problems in convenient ways. Researchers are not encircled either by the positivist or by the constructivist approach; in contrast, researchers are guided by the philosophy that research problems should be resolved empirically and practically according to the nature of those research problems.

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Pragmatism in Social Research: Development Pragmatism has been developed into two stages—the early stage from 1860–1930 and the “neo-pragmatic period” from 1960—present (Mertens, 2014). In the neopragmatic period, pragmatism has had a significant contribution in developing social science research. More precisely, pragmatism emerged as a methodological naturalism in social science to see the social problems from different angles and accurate mapping of social reality. This specific nature of pragmatism has established it as a dominating worldview or paradigm in social science research. Regarding worldview, Kuhn (1962) says, a worldview or paradigm is regarded as an ‘accepted model or pattern’, or otherwise regarded as an organizing structure, or a “deeper philosophical position relating to the nature of social phenomena and social structures” (Kuhn, 1962, p. 23). Now, pragmatism is a widely used paradigm in the field of social and behavioural sciences for exploring and investigating any issues in the best possible way. There is no single methodology that can unveil all successful scientific activities. In this regard, the pragmatic paradigm believes in the assumptions about knowledge and enquiry that supports the ‘Mixed Methods’ approach. This paradigm combines quantitative and qualitative approaches in light of positivism and constructivism. Therefore, it is necessary to understand ‘positivism’ and ‘constructivism’ for explaining ‘pragmatism’.

Positivism Positivism in social research believes in scientific knowledge and experiment for exploring social problems. Positivist social researchers study social problems through scientific methodology, which is generally called experimental research. In positivism, information gained through the experiment is the ultimate and trustworthy information. The result of the research is justified by the scientific experiment, validity, and reliability. This is called quantitative methodology in social science research. Collins (2010) has explained positivism “as a philosophy, positivism is following the empiricist view that knowledge stems from human experience. It has an atomistic, ontological view of the world as comprising discrete, observable elements and events that interact in an observable, determined and regular manner” (Collins, 2010, p. 38). In positivism, the role of the researcher is very insignificant; on the other hand, findings from experiments determine the research result. Bryman (2008) says, “Positivism is an epistemological position that advocates the application of the methods of natural sciences to the study of social reality and beyond” (Bryman, 2008, p. 13). Positivism assumes that the social world is run like a natural world; therefore, the experiment is the appropriate methodology for exploring any social problem.

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Constructivism Constructivism, on the other hand, has been developed against the criticism of positivist and post-positivist schools of thought, which suggest that knowledge is gathered with the interaction of individual mind and social structure. Knowledge is socially constructed; thus, the researcher needs to acquire comprehensive knowledge about society and people to best explain any social problem. Bryman (2008) says, “Constructivism is an ontological position that asserts that social science actors are continually accomplishing social phenomena and their meaning. It implies that social phenomena and categories are not only produced through social interaction but they are in a constant state of revision” (Bryman, 2008, p. 19). Constructivism proposes the qualitative method that emphasizes observation and understanding of a researcher as the main tools of conducting research. Unlike positivism, constructivist acknowledges the role of the researcher and the respondents for ensuring the objectivity of the research outcome.

Pragmatism Pragmatism as a philosophical worldview is the latest manifestation in social science research that combines both the philosophy of positivism and constructivism. It is a specific type of philosophy of science that uncovers both social and natural science (Baert, 2004). Pragmatism does not follow any specific system of philosophy or reality, rather integrates two independent strands of research, i.e., experimental and descriptive findings. Pragmatist researchers focus on the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of the research problem and are organized in a social setting (Creswell et al., 2003). In the initial stage, pragmatic researchers rejected the scientific notion that “social inquiry was able to access the ‘truth’ about the real world solely by a single scientific method” (Mertens, 2014). This paradigm essentially provides the underlying philosophical framework for mixed-methods research. Sometimes, researchers refer to this paradigm as the transformative and reflexive paradigm, where researchers use multiple methods to answer the research question (Mertens, 2014). Pragmatism does not concentrate on exploring the subjective and objective issue; instead, it places the research problem as central and applies all approaches to understanding the problem (Creswell, 2003, p. 11). Pragmatism does not give much emphasis on single philosophical loyalty (qualitative or quantitative), but it depends on the research questions and accordingly chooses the data collection and analysis methods. For better understanding, the framework of philosophical worldview has been mentioned below (Table 9.1): Researchers under the pragmatism paradigm are free from the mental and practical constraints imposed by the “forced-choice dichotomy between positivism and constructivism” (Creswell & Clarkm, 2007, p. 27). The researchers are more liberal

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Table 9.1 Basic beliefs associated with pragmatism Basic belief

Pragmatism

Axiology (nature of ethical behaviour)

Gain knowledge in pursuit of designed ends as influenced by the researcher’s values and polities

Ontology (nature of reality)

Asserts that there is a single reality and that all individuals have their unique interpretation of reality

Epistemology (nature of knowledge; the relation between knower and would be known)

Relationship in research is determined by what the researcher deems as appropriate to that particular study

Methodology (approach to systematic inquiry)

Match methods to specific questions and purposes of research; mixed methods can be used as the researcher works back and forth between various approaches

Source Mertens (2014); Cresswell (2010)

and enjoy the freedom of using suitable methods for their practical research problems. Dewey (1998) has thus rightly viewed that pragmatists measure the existential reality and for that purpose researchers undertake both objective and subjective issues for mixing both the qualitative and quantitative methods for achieving valid and reliable research results (Morgan, 2007). Another key issue of pragmatic research is the convergence nature of objective and subjective views for producing knowledge that represents the social reality more vividly. Nowadays, pragmatic research is the best platform for converging qualitative and quantitative methods with the growing nature of complex social problems (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004).

Characteristics of Pragmatic Research Based on the definition, methodological stand, and application in the social science research, Creswell (2014) has outlined the following characteristics of pragmatism: ● Pragmatism in social research does not support any specific philosophy. It means that pragmatism is not committed to either qualitative or quantitative methods. However, pragmatism is based on mixing both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. ● Researchers enjoy the freedom to adopt any methods, techniques, and procedures to conduct the research. For example, a researcher can take both surveys as part of a quantitative method and interviews as part of a qualitative method to answer any research question. ● According to pragmatic research, there is no absolute truth or unity in the world. Pragmatism believes that truth can be seen and attained through applying different

9 Pragmatism

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● ● ● ● ●

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ways and different methods. For example, for identifying a research question pragmatism support multiple methods to see the truth. According to pragmatism, truth is achieved when it is explored. There is no truth pre-existing within the mind. For example, if the cause of poverty is explored through the research, pragmatism supports the existing causes and results. It will not believe in the past cause or pre-existing causes. The pragmatic research explores the ‘what’ and ‘how’ questions while conducting research. This research depends on the consequences of the problem that the researcher intends to explore. Pragmatic research believes that research occurs in social, historical, political, and other contexts. Therefore, pragmatists depend on the theoretical lens to set up research questions and explore the answers. Pragmatic research emphasizes the external world of the mind and the issue that is inbuilt within the mind. However, pragmatic researchers suggest that researchers should not ask questions about reality and the law of nature. Pragmatic research suggests using multiple methods, different worldviews, assumptions, and data collection methods. For this nature, pragmatic research is called a flexible but complex form of research. Source: Creswell (2014, pp. 10–11).

Mixed-Methods Research as Pragmatic Research The best example of pragmatic research is mixed-method research in social science. Thus, pragmatic research is also called the mixed-method research paradigm. Cultural anthropologists and sociologists developed mixed-method research early in the twentieth century. However, mixed-methods are seen as emerging from the 1990s onwards, establishing themselves alongside the previous paradigms (Johnson et al., 2007). As a definition, mixed-methods research is an alternative research approach that conglomerates both the quantitative and qualitative research purposefully to answer research questions from multiple angles. In every step, mixed-method research applies both methods for research design, data collection, and final presentation. Johnson et al. (2007) define, “mixed methods research as the type of research in which a researcher or team of researchers combines elements of qualitative and quantitative research approaches (e.g., use of qualitative and quantitative viewpoints, data collection, analysis, inference techniques) for breadth and depth of understanding and corroboration” (Johnson et al., 2007, p. 123). Creswell and Clark (2007) argue that the term ‘mixed methods’ describes research that combines qualitative and quantitative approaches, methods, and data for the research purpose (Creswell & Clark, 2007, p. 6). Indeed, a mixed-method is an integrated research technique where a researcher collects both quantitative (close-ended) and qualitative (open-ended) data for answering the research questions and hypotheses. In the process of mixedmethods, a researcher combines the result in a particular point for data presentation, which is commonly called the inference of data. Sometimes, the qualitative result

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supports the quantitative one or the quantitative data supports the quantitative for the overall presentation of results (Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009). The processes of mixed-methods research can be presented in the following way (Fig. 9.1): Based on the pragmatic approach, mixed-methods researchers use different forms of a technique for data collection, data analysis and presentation, e.g., concurrent, sequential, explanatory, exploratory and embedded mixed-methods. However, the simplest design of mixed-methods research can be presented as follows (Fig. 9.2): In sum, mixed-methods research is an applied form of research, which is also called a mixing method for attaining specific research outcomes. Formulating a research question in mixed-methods research is a difficult task. Generally, the quantitative study depends on the hypothesis, and the qualitative study depends on the direct questions.

Collecting and analysing quantitative and qualitative data in response to open-ended and closed-ended research questions and hypotheses

Using rigorous methods for both quantitative and qualitative procedures

Integrating the two databases and interpreting the results using specific types of mixed method design

Incorporating-at times-various theoretical perspectives and making explicit the philosophical foundations of the research Fig. 9.1 The process of mixed-method research. Source Adapted from Creswell, 2010, 2014; Teddlie and Tashakkori (2009)

Qualitative data collection and analysis

Qualitative result Merge results for comparison

Quantitative data collection and analysis

Interpret or explain result (convergence or divergence)

Quantitative result

Fig. 9.2 Simple design of mixed-method research. Source Adapted from Creswell (2014, p. 56)

9 Pragmatism Table 9.2 Differences of major paradigms

125 Positivism

Constructivism

Pragmatism

Experimental Quasi-experimental Correlational Reductionism Theory verification Causal-comparative Determination Normative

Naturalistic Phenomenological Hermeneutic Interpretive Ethnographic Multiple participant meanings Social and historical construction Theory generation Symbolic interaction

Consequences of actions Problem-centred Pluralistic Real-world practice-oriented Mixed models

Debate There are debates and discussions in pragmatic research. Some researchers argue that pragmatism is not a philosophical idea; alternatively, it is the combination of the previous methodologies. The mixed-method under the pragmatic worldview is also one kind of mixing and integrating of methods for a specific purpose. Denzin (2012) summarizes the importance of these issues as follows: The MMR links to the pragmatism of Dewey, James, Mead, and Pierce are problematic. Classic pragmatism is not a methodology per se. It is a doctrine of meaning, a theory of truth. It rests on the argument that the meaning of an event cannot be given in advance of experience. The focus is on the consequences and meanings of an action or event in a social situation. This concern goes beyond any given methodology or any problem-solving activity (Denzin, 2012).

Pragmatism as a research paradigm is also weak in analysing any issue critically, as multiple methods are applied to solve a practical problem. In pragmatic research, researchers need to employ both experimental and analytical knowledge, which is extremely difficult for a single researcher to meet multiple branches of knowledge. This lacking of comprehensive knowledge most likely generates weak research results. Moreover, researchers are not able to present the research result comprehensively as multiple sets of research results are explored in a single case. On the other hand, the proponents of pragmatism in social research argue that pragmatic research is the best way to resolve confusion to explain the research question from different angles and lenses. As a summarized overview, the basic differences in major worldviews or paradigms can be summarized as follows (Table 9.2):

Conclusions The discussion on pragmatism reveals that it is a philosophical strand used in American philosophy and political science. In the present research field, it is now a popular

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methodological worldview in the social sciences to explore research outcomes from different angles. This is a growing philosophical paradigm in the research methods for avoiding methodological conflicts or methodological deficiencies in social science (Bryman, 2008, p. 625). Currently, pragmatism is indeed a successful methodological paradigm that has managed to brush aside the quantitative/qualitative divide and end the paradigm war (Hanson 2008, p. 109). Pragmatists do not care which method researchers should follow; rather, they uphold that the core principle of pragmatism is answering what the researchers want to know. For this special feature, pragmatism has had a significant contribution in advancing social research all over the world. Pragmatism is now used as a guide for not only top-down deductive research designs but also for grounding inductive research. Pragmatism offers a wider scope for producing an appropriate integrated methodology for the social sciences through acknowledging the value of both quantitative and qualitative research methods.

References Alberstein, M. (2002). Pragmatism. In D. S. Clark (Ed.) Encyclopedia of law & society: American and global perspectives. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412952637.n539. Baert, P. (2004). Pragmatism as a philosophy of the social sciences. European Journal of Social Theory, 7(3), 355–369. Bryman, A. (2008). Why do researchers integrate/combine/mesh/blend/mix/merge/fuse quantitative and qualitative research. Advances in mixed methods research, 87–100. Burrell, G., & Morgan, G. (1979). Sociological paradigms and organisational analysis (vol. 248). Heinemann. Collins, H. (2010). Creative research: The theory and practice of research for the creative industries. Ava Publishing. Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach. SAGE Publications. Creswell, J. W. (2010). Mapping the developing landscape of mixed methods research. SAGE handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioral research, 2, 45–68. Creswell, J. W. (2014). A concise introduction to mixed methods research. Sage Publications. Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. L. P. (2007). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications. Creswell, J. W., Plano Clark, V. L., Gutmann, M. L., & Hanson, W. E. (2003). Advanced mixed methods research designs. Handbook of mixed methods in social and behavioral research (pp. 209–240). Denzin, N. K. (2012). Triangulation 2.0. Journal of mixed methods research, 6(2), 80–88. Dewey, J. (1998). The essential Dewey: Pragmatism, education, democracy (Vol. 1). Indiana University Press. Hammersley, M. (1989). Pragmatism. In The dilemma of qualitative method: Herbert blumer and the Chicago tradition. London, England: Routledge, (pp. 44–65). Hanson, B. (2008). Wither qualitative/quantitative?: Grounds for methodological convergence. Quality & Quantity, 42(1), 97–111. Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004). Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time has come. Educational Researcher, 33(7), 14–26. Johnson, R. B., Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Turner, L. A. (2007). Toward a definition of mixed methods research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(2), 112–133.

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Kuhn, T. S. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions. University of Chicago press Mertens, D. M. (2014). Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Sage Publications. Morgan, D. L. (2007). Paradigms lost and pragmatism regained methodological implications of combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(1), 48–76. Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (1998). Mixed methodology: Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches (vol. 46). Sage. Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (2003). Handbook of mixed methods in the behavioral and social sciences: Thousand Oaks. Sage. Teddlie, C., & Tashakkori, A. (2003). Major issues and controversies in the use of mixed methods in the social and behavioral sciences. Handbook of mixed methods in social and behavioral research, 1(1), 13–50. Teddlie, C., & Tashakkori, A. (2009). Foundations of mixed methods research: Integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches in the social and behavioral sciences. Sage Publications Inc. West, C. (1989). The American evasion of philosophy: A genealogy of pragmatism. University of Wisconsin Press.

Part III

Quantitative Research Approach

Chapter 10

Designing Research Proposal in Quantitative Approach Md. Rezaul Karim

Abstract This chapter provides a comprehensive guideline for writing a research proposal in quantitative approach. It starts with the definition and purpose of writing a research proposal followed by a description of essential parts of a research proposal and subjects included in each part, organization of a research proposal, and guidelines for writing different parts of a research proposal including practical considerations and aims of a proposal that facilitate the acceptance of the proposal. Finally, an example of a quantitative research proposal has been presented. It is expected that research students and other interested researchers will be able to write their research proposal(s) using the guidelines presented in the chapter. Keywords Research proposal · Quantitative research approach · Problem statement · Literature review · Research methodology · Research design

Introduction A written research proposal precedes all research projects. Usually, a research proposal is written to submit and to convince an authority (academic or funding). Hence, it requires special attention. Writing a research proposal is a science as well as an art. As a science, all research proposals have common essential parts and, as art, the style of presentation of different parts of a research proposal varies among the researchers according to their experience and skill. As science is universal, it is the art that plays a vital role in convincing the approval authority towards acceptance of a research proposal. This chapter, besides the description of essential parts of the quantitative research proposal, discusses the guidelines of writing the different parts of the research proposal followed by an example of a research proposal.

Md. R. Karim (B) Department of Social Work, Jagannath University, Dhaka 1100, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_10

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Research Proposal A research proposal is a blueprint or guideline for conducting and controlling a research project (Arboleda, 1981). Completion of all the activities of research is known as a research project and a written research proposal precedes all research projects. The research proposal outlines detailed activities of a research project along with the required human resources and budget for the purpose. As we know there are two major approaches to research, i.e. qualitative and quantitative, research proposal can be either qualitative or quantitative or a mix of the two.

Quantitative Research Approach Quantitative research focuses on gathering numerical data and generalizing it across groups of people or explaining a particular phenomenon (Babbie, 2010). Creswell (1994) defined quantitative research as research that explains phenomena by collecting and analysing numerical data using mathematically based methods (particularly statistics). According to the University of Southern California Research, the main characteristics of quantitative research are1 : . . . . . .

Use of structured instruments or questionnaires for data collection. Data were collected from representative samples to generalize. Given the high reliability, replication of research is possible. Clearly defined research question so that objective answers are sought. The research is carefully designed before data collection. Data generated are numerical, and statistical techniques are used in the presentation and analysis of data. . Results are used for generalization and wider context, predict future and often test causal relationships. . Use of tools, such as structured questionnaires, computer software, to collect numerical data, analysis, and interpretation findings.

Purpose of Research Proposal A research proposal is prepared for two main purposes: first, to guide the implementation of the research project; and second, to convince either an academic authority or a funding agency or reviewer(s) for permission or fund. Despite the first one being important, the second one is often given priority in proposal writing because permission is necessary to conduct research. To convince an authority, a research proposal needs to establish that: 1

http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/researchproposal.

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. The project is worthwhile, or the research idea is important. . The relevant literature has been reviewed sufficiently. . The methodology is sound to realize the research objective(s) and/or test the hypothesis. . The proposed research is researchable. . The researcher has the competence to conduct the research.

Essential Components of a Research Proposal Whether the proposal is written for submission to an academic institution or a funding agency, generally, a research proposal answers the following questions with the necessary information: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

What has planned to do (problem statement)? Why is the research planned to do (objective and rationale)? How is the research going to be conducted (methodology)? When is the research going to be conducted (timetable)? Who is going to take part in the research (personnel)? How much cost will incur to implement the research project (budget)?

The following matrix presents detailed information need to be provided/discussed to answer the above questions organized under five major topics. It is worth mentioning that all research projects may not need all information discussed below (Table 10.1).

Organization/Parts of a Research Proposal The organization of a research proposal varies by agency/institution as most funding agencies and academic institutions provide format and guidelines for proposal. So, the first and foremost duty of a researcher/student is to know whether there are any prescribed format and/or guidelines. If any, the researcher needs to arrange/place the above information according to the given format. Generally, the above information is organized in a research proposal as follows: (1)

(2) (3) (4) (5)

Title or cover page: Title, principal investigator(s), name of the agency/institution to which the proposal is being submitted, date of submission, etc. Abstract: To provide a quick conception of the proposal to the reviewer in one paragraph. Acronyms: Elaboration of all abbreviations used in the proposal. Table of contents: Major parts, chapters, headings, subheadings, etc. with the page number(s). Introduction/background: The context/background of the research proposal.

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(6)

Statement of the problem and rationale: Outline various aspects of the problem (background, present state, causes, consequences, knowledge gaps, etc.) and for what purpose and why is it important to study. Methodology: How the research objectives will be realized and/or research hypothesis will be tested and/or research questions will be answered. Presentation of findings: How the research findings will be disseminated. Timetable: Specification of the detailed timeline of different research activities. Personnel: Details of all personnel/human resources to be involved in the study. Budget: Detail of the costs to be required to complete all research activities. Ethical Statement: How the research subjects (human beings) will be handled ethically. Limitations: Weaknesses of the research and plan for minimizing consequences.

(7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13)

Table 10.1 Essential parts of a research proposal and required information in each part Sl

Major topic

Questions to answer

Detail information to be provided/discussed

1

Statement of the problem and rationale of the study

1. What has planned to do in the research? Title, Background, Literature review, 2. Why is the research planned to do? Research questions, Objectives, Hypothesis, Definition of concepts, Measurement, Theoretical framework, Conceptual framework, Rationale, Significance, Limitations, Scope, ethical consideration

2

Methodology

3. How the research will be conducted?

Design, Identification of data required, Identification of sources of data, Study area, Unit of analysis, Population, Sampling, Methods of data collection, Instrument of data collection, Interviewer, Fieldwork/data collection, Data processing, Data analysis and interpretation, Report preparation, Presentation of findings (continued)

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Table 10.1 (continued) Sl

Major topic

Questions to answer

Detail information to be provided/discussed

3

Time schedule

4. When the research will be conducted?

Preparation (Literature search, discuss with relevant people, proposal finalize, etc.), Personnel and training, Pre-testing and finalizing Instrument; Data collection, Data processing, Data analysis, Report writing, Presentation of findings, Final report submission

4

Personnel

5. Who is going to take part in the research?

Some personnel, their qualifications and duties: Academic personnel, Research Assistants, Consultants, Interviewers, Computer Programmer/Operator, Secretaries, Technicians, Driver, Peon, Guard, Subjects, etc

5

Budget

6. How much the research is going to cost?

Salaries and wages

Academic personnel, Research assistants, Consultants, Interviewers, Computer Operator, Secretaries, Clerk-typists, Technicians, Subjects, Hourly personnel, Staff benefits, Salary increases in the new year, etc

Equipment

Fixed equipment, Movable equipment, Office equipment, Equipment installation, etc

Materials and supplies

Office supplies, Communications, Test materials, Questionnaire forms, Duplication materials, Manipulation package (in case of experimental research), Supplies, Electronic supplies, Report materials and supplies, etc (continued)

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Table 10.1 (continued) Sl

Major topic

Questions to answer

Detail information to be provided/discussed

Travel

Administrative, Fieldwork, Professional meetings, Travel for consultation, Consultants’ travel, Subsistence, Automobile rental, Aircraft rental, Ship rental, etc

Services

Computer use, Duplication services (reports, etc.), Publication costs, Photographic services, Service contracts, etc

Others/miscellaneous

Space rental, Alterations and renovations, Purchase of periodicals and books, FGD conduct, Tuition and fees (training grants), Subcontracts, ICT charges, Tax & VAT, etc

Guideline for Writing the Major Parts of a Research Proposal (There might be some overlapping among different parts).

Title of the Research All research proposal starts with a title. The title of a research proposal is the gateway for the reviewers. The title should be short, explanatory, and catchy. It should concisely include the major concepts and their relations (if any) of the proposed research. That is, a research title should be detailed enough to convey the thrust of the proposed research yet be succinct. The title should avoid words that add nothing to a reader’s understanding, such as ‘A Study of…,’ ‘Survey of…,’ ‘An Investigation of…,’ ‘Studies on…,’ ‘Research on Some Problems in….’.2 2

University of Michigan. Research and Sponsored Projects. http://orsp.umich.edu/proposal-wri ters-guide-research-proposals-title-page.

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Introduction and Rationale of the Research The main purpose of the introduction section of a research proposal is to provide the background or context of the problem under study. Typically, it starts with a statement of the problem area in general, then focuses on the specific problem area to be studied. This is followed by stating the objective of the study and why it is important to study or rationale of the study. Generally, the introduction and rationale section covers the following areas: . General statement of the research problem (context, state, causes, consequences, etc.). . Identification of the knowledge gap in the problem area and set the research objectives and research questions accordingly. . Establish the justification or rationale of the research. Sometimes, it is stated as the utility of the research. . A brief outline of the research proposal.

Background of the Research This section may not be a separate part if the proposal is relatively short and if the introduction section describes the background already. If the literature must be reviewed and/or the context of the research need to be presented, a literature review section is required. The background section presents the context of the proposed research and reviews the existing literature in the field. More precisely this section describes the followings: . . . . .

Background of the proposed research. Context of the proposed research. The research problem under consideration. Available knowledge about the research problem and the knowledge gap. How the proposed research addresses the knowledge gap in the field or how does it differ from completed research projects in the field.

The Rationale of the Research The rationale section of a research proposal is often incorporated in the introduction part. Wherever it is placed, either in the introduction or separately, the main thrust of this section is to prove that the proposed research is new and worthwhile. Answers to the following questions would be helpful in this regard: . . . .

Why the research project has been selected? What is known about it and what is the gap or what is necessary to know further? Why is it necessary to know? What is the significance of the study?

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Significance or Utility or Use of the Research This section of the research proposal focuses on how the research findings would be useful in terms of the development of knowledge, open new research possibilities, etc. These are needed to be placed in such a way that the reviewers become convinced to give funds or permission for the research. Usually, most research has two potential audiences: practitioners and professional peers. The utility of the findings for both these groups should be mentioned realistically. Answer to the following specific questions would better establish the significance of the research3 : . How will findings add new knowledge and contribute to the existing body of knowledge? . What suggestions for subsequent research will arise from the findings? . What will the results mean to the practitioners? . Will results influence programmes, methods, and/or interventions? . Will results contribute to the solution of problem(s)? . Will results influence policy decisions? . How will results be implemented, and what innovations will come about?

Literature Review A literature review is another integral part of a research proposal. However, it is not equally important for all types of research. For example, it is vital for research based on a particular theory or research which is considered a basic type of research. In such cases, the researcher requires to present a separate literature review section explaining how the present research relates to that particular theory or research; the proposed research question or hypothesis may have been derived from the theory or the researcher may plan to refute the theory/findings or may plan to fulfil some knowledge gap in the theory/research, etc. In the case of applied research (action research, operations research, etc.), literature review, however, may not be a vital part and may be placed within different sections of the proposal instead of a separate literature review section. It is notable that, nowadays, huge literature is available in most research areas and easily accessible through the internet and other means. A separate literature review section may incorporate only a selective number of documents to be presented one by one. Thus, to incorporate more and more literature, the results of the literature review may be placed in different relevant sections of the proposal. This would ensure the incorporation of more literature. Another point is literature review requires in all stages of research from problem formulation to the presentation of findings. This also indicates that it is useful to place a literature review in different appropriate sections of the proposal. Whatever the strategy, the literature review is particularly important to establish the credibility of the proposed research by showing that the research will fulfil the knowledge gap and extent of the 3

Pajares, F. (n.d). The Elements of a Proposal. Emory University.

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researcher’s knowledge in the field. More specifically, literature review performs the following important functions to establish the credibility of the proposed research4 : . . . . . . . .

Ensures that the proposed research is not a repetition. Acknowledgements those who have already contributed to the field. Shows the extent of the researcher’s knowledge about the research area. Shows the understanding of the theoretical issues related to the proposed research. Shows researcher’s skill of studying and evaluating relevant literature critically. Indicates researcher’s capability to combine and synthesize relevant literature. Provides new theoretical insights as to the conceptual framework. Convinces the reviewer that the proposed research will make a significant contribution to the existing knowledge and policy formulation in the problem area.

A literature review can be organized in different ways either in a separate section or in relevant sections of the proposal. The use of headings, subheadings, subsubheadings brings order and coherence to the literature review. The literature review should be presented coherently in such a way that the reviewer feels like reading a story in an absorbing manner. Otherwise, the reviewer would feel bored which may lead to rejection of the proposal.

Problem Statement The problem statement frames the entire research. In this section, the problem under study is presented in such a way that the context of the research objectives is set. This section elaborates the problem stated in the introduction section. Statement of the problem section presents all aspects of the problem under study the problem; past, present, and future state; causes, consequences, remedies, etc. Another focus of this section is to prepare the theoretical structure of research and relate theory to the real world. It also states the benefits and beneficiaries of the research findings. Answering the following questions would be considered in writing this section.5 . . . . . . . . . 4 5

Does the problem to be researched deserve substantial research effort? Does researching the problem important for other scholars and practitioners? Is there enough logic behind why the problem is worth solving? How the research findings will be beneficial and to whom? Will the research findings contribute to theory or have practical applicability? Are the research objectives expressed clearly? Are the research questions stated precisely and focusing on research objectives? Are the research questions flow logically from the statement of the problem? Does the hypothesis (if any), formulated clearly and well-articulated? Wong, P.T. P. http://www.meaning.ca/archives/archive/art_how_to_write_P_Wong.htm. https://www.scribd.com/document/40384531/Research-Proposal-1.

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. Does the variables (independent and dependent) of the hypothesis measurable? . Are the important terms well defined (both theoretically and operationally)? . Is the theoretical framework set the context of the relationship stated in the hypothesis? . Is the conceptual framework precisely identifying the variables and their relationships clearly and operationally? . Are the assumptions (if any) explained fully? . Are the limitations identified and their consequences described convincingly?

Research Question(s) As all other parts of a research proposal are framed to answer the research question(s), it is the most crucial part of a research proposal. The answer(s) to the research question(s) is the result or findings of a research project. Research question(s) also provokes the interests of the reviewers. They keenly look at how important the research question(s) and how the research activities have been proposed to answer the research question(s). A research project should be a major research question that is often translated into several specific research questions. The research question(s) should be evocative, relevant, clear, and researchable.6 The research question should be evocative: The research question(s) should be persuasive and capable of drawing the interest of the reviewer into the proposal. Such question(s) also easily adhere to the reviewers’ memory after reading the proposal. Evocative questions are: Timely: Evocative questions are related to contemporary social or theoretical issues. For instance, research question(s) on drug addiction, terrorism, violence against women, child abuse, cybercrime are likely to draw the interests of the reviewers/authorities at present in Bangladesh. Framed as a paradox: Evocative questions are framed around a stirring paradox. For instance, why terrorism is increasing in Bangladesh while literacy is increasing? Or, why violence against women is increasing in Bangladesh while women are increasingly empowered? Or, why dropout from education is increasing despite programmes for keeping the children in school? These questions have more than one potential answer. Based on a distinctive approach: If a question approaches a long-standing problem (such as poverty in Bangladesh) through a new angle or proposes a new way of analysis, it is likely to be evocative to the reviewers. The research question should be relevant: Questions having relevancy to the society, social groups, intellectual debate, scholarly literature are likely to be given more weight by the reviewers. Two common ways to demonstrate the relevancy of the research questions are: 6

Institute of International Studies. Dissertation Proposal Workshop, UC Berkeley, http://iis.ber keley.edu/node/424.

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Fill in the missing piece: The research question(s) should target to fill a knowledge gap in the field of research as this will likely draw support from reviewers. Make connections: Social research is conducted on a specific topic. However, these topics are derived from a broader area/field. So, they are likely to be related. The proposed research topic should be related to other topics of the research area. This will increase the worthiness of the proposed research. The research question should be clear: Clear research questions are short yet explicitly stated without any confusion. Two ways to make research questions clear are: Ground the question: Research questions should be well-grounded within the larger context of the proposed research in terms of connection with different aspects and its specific focus in the field. Questions constructed focusing on the research title are clearer. Specific and clear questions are easier for the reviewers to determine the relevancy and objective of the questions. Limit the number of variables: Too many variables in a research question are difficult to understand, relate, and research. ‘Is the increase in female literacy rate in Bangladesh result of government policies?’ is much easier to understand than ‘Is the increase in female literacy rate in Bangladesh result of government policies, expansion of educational institutions and consciousness of people?’. The research question should be researchable: If the reviewers find the research question is too extensive or difficult for the researcher to carry out, the proposal is likely to be rejected. There are several questions a researcher may consider in choosing research question(s). . How long will take to complete the research to answer the research question? . Does the researcher have the capability to conduct the research? . Is the project likely to be approved by the approval authority considering the research question(s)? . Will the cooperation of all necessary individuals, communities, institutions, etc. obtainable to conduct the research? . If the research question could not be answered completely, can it be broken down so that the most important component of the question could be addressed?

Research Objectives Objectives are vital for any research project. Objectives may be seen as small particles which constitute the research problem. Objectives should be presented in operational terms. Normally a research objective starts with phrases like: ‘to know’ or ‘to identify’ or ‘to find out, etc. All research activities are planned according to the objectives of the research as the success of a research project depends on the realization of its objectives. So, research objectives should be carefully outlined. Nowadays, objectives are often presented as broad objectives and specific objectives. A broad objective describes the major thrust of the research and specific objectives describe the

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research objective in specific forms focusing on variables to be explored or described or explained. Research objectives, research questions, and research hypotheses are closely related.

Hypothesis The hypothesis is the tentative answer to the research question stated in the form of a relationship between two or more variables known as independent variable or cause and dependent variable or effect. In scientific research, the hypothesis is considered as the focal point and directly related to the principal research question. Hypotheses should be based on the theoretical framework and conceptually clear. The source of the hypothesis might be an existing theory or a newly formulated theoretical framework constructed based on the knowledge and experience of the researcher. The relationship between the variables stated in the hypothesis may be directional or nondirectional. The directional hypothesis states whether the relationship is positive or negative, and the nondirectional hypothesis states nothing about the direction of the relationship. Difference between research question and hypothesis: Questions are mostly relevant to exploratory or descriptive type research and qualitative in nature research (What is the extent of dropout at primary level? Does racial discrimination at school contributes to dropout?). While the hypothesis is relevant to the explanatory type of research and quantitative (there is a relationship between gender and educational achievement). A research question may be about the relationship between two or more variables like a hypothesis but phrases it in the form of a question while the hypothesis makes a statement about the relationship between independent and dependent variables and is subject to be tested empirically.

Definition of Concepts/Terms A good research proposal must define concepts (terms) clearly and concretely both theoretically and operationally. The theoretical definition is to define a concept with more familiar and easier terms while the operational definition is to relate a concept to the empirical world. The operational definition of concepts is very important to realize the objectives or test hypotheses or answer questions of research. It spells out how the major concepts and variables will be measured empirically and used to realize the objectives or test the hypothesis or answer research questions.

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Theoretical Framework The theoretical framework presents the theoretical basis of the proposed research project. It theoretically explains why the problem exists and its possible explanation. It helps the researcher to see the variables to measure, the independent and dependent variables. For example, is there any relationship between gender and educational achievement? Here gender is independent and educational achievement is the dependent variable. The theoretical framework assumes that there is a difference in ‘educational achievement’ among the students by ‘gender’. The theoretical framework describes or explains how this relationship between gender and educational achievement forms. Background theories are useful to formulate a theoretical framework.

Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework states the relationship between variables under study in operational terms. Consider the above hypothesis where gender is the independent variable and educational achievement is the dependent variable. Gender is a qualitative variable and can be measured through a nominal scale with two categories, i.e., male and female. While educational achievement is a quantitative variable and can be measured in both interval scale (percent of marks or GPA obtained) and ordinal scale (letter grade, such as A, B, C, etc.). Some extraneous variables might be there too, such as the economic condition of the family, the residence of the student, study hour, the merit of the students, and son. These variables are to control for establishing the cause–effect relationship between gender and educational achievement precisely.

Measures The research proposal should clearly state how the variables/concepts of the proposed study will be measured. In social research, a variable can be measured at three levels, i.e. nominal (classify the variable and assign a name to each category), ordinal (order the variable into categories along a continuum), and interval (measure the variable quantitatively with exact numerical value). For example, we can measure the variables stated in the above hypothesis as follows: Variable type

Variable name

Measurement scale

Independent

Gender

Nominal

Male, Female

Dependent

Achievement

Ordinal

Letter grade: A+ , A, A−, B+ , B, B−, C

Intervening

Merit (IQ)

Interval

0 to 100 assigned through an IQ test

Categories/values

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Methodology The methodology is the most critically examined part by the reviewers. It describes the detailed actions to be undertaken to answer the research questions or to realize the research objectives or test the research hypothesis. In short, methodology section answers the question of how. That is, methodology outlines how the research questions will be answered or the research hypothesis will be tested. Several aspects need to be detailed out in the methodology part. Some of these are a selection of design, study area, unit of analysis, population, sample size and sampling procedure, data collection method, sources of data or respondents, instruments of data collection, investigators, fieldwork plan, data processing and analysis plan, and so on. In most cases, the researcher needs to make logical choices among different alternatives. Despite area and sample size depending on available funds, time, and manpower, reviewers also take note of those. For quantitative research sample size should be enough to make inferences in a statistically significant way with acceptable or agreed upon precision. Design: Research design describes how the research objectives will be realized or how the hypothesis will be tested or how the research question will be answered; what data will be necessary, how and from where data will be collected and how the data will be analysed and interpreted for the purpose. Borbasi and Jackson (2012) mentioned four major types of quantitative research design: descriptive, correlational, experimental, and quasi-experimental. For the proposed study, the researcher needs to choose one that best fit to realize the study objectives. However, there should be enough flexibility as research design relates the theory into the empirical world it may face complexities and challenges during implementation. Furthermore, the objectives of social research may be exploratory or descriptive or explanatory. Different types of design are essential for realizing different types of research objectives. For example, if the objective of the proposed research is explanatory, there must be a hypothesis and experimental design is necessary to test the hypothesis. So, first, the type of research must be identified and then the appropriate research design. Finally, according to the selected design, from where and whom, what and how data will be collected, and how the collected data will be processed and analysed should be mentioned in brief in the design section. If the experimental design is selected how the experimental (independent) variable will be manipulated and how the extraneous variables will be controlled (experimentally or statistically) should be stated clearly in the design section. There should be a solid connection between the research objectives and the research design. If the reviewers fail to see this connection, the proposal may be rejected. Sampling: The sample is a representative part of the population to be drawn for data collection. A sampling plan is very important in quantitative research as it looks for generalization. Unless the sample is representative, the generalization would be in question. Two sampling techniques are probability sampling and nonprobability

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sampling. If generalization is intended the sample should be drawn using the probability sampling technique as it ensures a representative sample. Again, the sample size should be enough so that statistical inferences can be made with sufficient precision. Data collection: Source of data and methods of data collection/compilation (in the case of secondary source) should be clearly stated in the proposal. Common methods of data collection for quantitative research survey, mail/e-mail/internet surveys, telephone surveys, observation, etc. Despite Focus Group Discussion (FGD) being a method of mainly qualitative data collection, quantitative data can also be generated through this method. Community Score Card (CSC)7 is such a method developed by Cooperation of Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE). Whatever the method of data collection the instruments used in quantitative research should be structured and pre-coded. However, qualitative data can be quantified following specifying rules of measurement. Fieldwork for data collection should be planned carefully and precisely. There should be provision for skilled enumerators and clearly stated quality control measures. Data processing and analysis: Data processing and analysis plan in detail should also be included in the proposal. How the data will be presented? What statistical techniques will be used for what purpose? How the relationship between variables will be measured? How the hypothesis will be tested? The data analysis plan should be focused on realizing the objectives and/or testing the hypothesis of the research. In quantitative research data are analysed statistically. Depending on research objectives, either descriptive or inferential or both statistical techniques are used.

Practical Considerations Selection of study area, unit of analysis, sampling (method & size), data collection methods, data analysis plan is decided based on available resources and are highly project-specific. All these are to be consciously planned in such a way that those can be accomplished with available resources, yet the objectives of the research would be achieved with acceptable precision.

7

For details of CSC see CARE Malawi. “The Community Score Card (CSC): A generic guide for implementing CARE’s CSC process to improve quality of services.” Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, Inc., 2013. http://www.care.org/sites/default/files/documents/FP2013-CARE_CommunityScoreCardToolkit.pdf

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Ethical Statement The research proposal should explicitly state how the participants of the research will be ethically maintained. For example, the researcher needs to assure the respondents of the study that the privacy and confidentiality of the data shall be strictly maintained. Burns and Grove (2009) mentioned that the researcher is obliged to consider the implications of the proposed research for the participating subjects, their families and society.

Limitations In social research, the researcher may face factors beyond his/her control that may affect the research process and/or results of the study. For example, generalization may not be possible due to nonprobability sampling; in-depth data might not be gathered due to the use of the survey method. Limiting factors, if any, should be stated in the research proposal. It is, however, need to be mentioned that limiting factors are truly beyond the researcher’s control and would not be overcome within the scope of the proposed study. This section is often considered optional.

Timetable A research project is required to be completed within the specified period. The time for different activities of the proposed research should be planned carefully so that the whole project would be completed within the stipulated time. There might be flexibility within the activities but not in the total period. Schedule often presented in Gantt Chart as shown in the example below.

Personnel Reviewers evaluate a research proposal by seeing the qualifications, experiences, and skills of the research personnel proposed, particularly the key personnel such as Team Leader or Researcher, Members of the Research Team, Research Associate, and so on. So, human resources (personnel) to be employed in the research project should have proven expertise to conduct the proposed research. Their qualifications should be specified clearly. How they will be selected and how they will be trained and what specific duties they will perform should be clearly stated.

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Budget and Resources Budget is another important part of a research proposal as it is often considered a major criterion of accepting a proposal. This is particularly true in the case of a competitive situation where reviewers select the proposal(s) among several proposals. Sometimes, funding agencies invite proposals in two parts, i.e., technical proposal and financial proposal. Despite technical proposal being a major concern, the financial proposal also plays a crucial role in deciding acceptance or rejection of a proposal. Thus, the budget should be carefully prepared. It should be a realistic and detailed listing of all possible sectors of expense. Despite budget being project-specific, generally, it includes salaries/wages/honorariums and benefits of the personnel, equipment, materials and supplies, travel and related transport allowance (TA) & daily allowance (DA), services, communications (telephone, internet, etc.), others/miscellaneous, etc. The budget determines the scope of the proposed research. Sometimes there might be a ceiling given by the funding agency which needs to be considered. The following points may be beneficial in budget preparation8 : The budget should be realistic and list costs by all sectors: The researcher requires to have a comprehensive idea about the real costs for every item in the respective country/area of study. It requires real knowledge about salary and wages, transportation, tourism, living expenses, supplies, etc. The budget should not be prepared from guessing or published price lists as costs may be changed in the meantime. It is better to include subtotals of various categories in the budget. Every possible expense should be considered: Budget should include all costs involved in the proposed research project. The budget should include major items like salary and wages, transportation, equipment, as well as minor items like paper, printing, photocopies, communication, etc. It is to be noted here that some sponsors may not provide costs of infrastructure, automobiles, computers, etc. The budget should be according to the funds available: Sometimes, the budget may become higher than that a sponsoring agency can support. In such cases, it is necessary to mention how the difference will be made up. To do this, one may need to manage other funding sources or cut the scope of research. Sometimes, the scope of research decides based on the fund available.

Presentation of Research Findings/Report Finally, it is important to mention how the research findings will be presented and disseminated. Usually, the research report is prepared first for presentation. In most cases, the report format is given by the approving authority. If there is none, the 8

Institute of International Studies. Dissertation Proposal Workshop, UC Berkeley, http://iis.ber keley.edu/node/424.

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researcher needs to mention his/her plan for the presentation of the findings of the research including the outline of the research report. A draft report is prepared as per outline and submitted to the approving authority or experts in the field or presented in a seminar for feedback. According to the feedback, the report is finalized and submitted as a specified number of hard copies and/or soft copies. Writing a scientific article(s) from the research might also be planned for further dissemination of the research findings through publishing in scientific/professional journals.

Size of the Proposal The size of the proposal is a practical issue in writing a research proposal. In most cases, this is specified in the prescribed format by the approving authority. If there is nothing, the size of the proposal should be enough for describing the essential elements in detail with sufficient information. It is tough to write a good research proposal in fewer words. If important details are omitted in the proposal that might cause rejection of the proposal.

The Aims of a Research Proposal The major aim of a research proposal is to capture the attention of the approving authority (reviewer). It is also evident that a research proposal might face competition if it is submitted for funding to an agency. In this context the aims of the research proposal should be: Capture the attention of the authority/reviewer: The beginning paragraph(s) of a research proposal should be written in such a way that the reader feels interested in it and as such go into detail. Posed questions are a captivating way to begin a proposal. For example, is the decline of fertility in Bangladesh a result of government policies? Stating the central point or hypothesis is also a good way to begin. For example, microcredit in the family causes dropout of children from education. Aim for clarity: A research proposal should be jargon-free as much as possible. The terms used should be simple and clear. Technical terms should be avoided unless it is a must and, if any, should be clarified in simple words. Establish the context: A research proposal should state clearly what will be learned from the research. For this purpose, the proposal should present the current state of knowledge by extensive literature review and provide the latest comprehensive bibliography of the topic under study.

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Establish the Justification Justification of a research project differs greatly by disciplinary norms and personal values and tastes. Establishing the fact that there is scope for knowing further about the topic under study or identifying the knowledge gap precisely justify the proposed research. It is important to convince the readers that the proposed topic is timely as well as urgent. If the proposed research focuses on theoretical issues, it is necessary to identify exactly how it fits with the theoretical debates and how it verifies the present theory or knowledge or how it develops new knowledge would draw the reviewer’s favour a great deal. Establish the utility: Presentation of the significance of the proposed research varies among the researchers. Criteria of judgement by the reviewers can also vary. Some may emphasize practical aspects while some on theoretical aspects. It is important to convince the reviewers that the topic under study is not only timely but also important as it contributes to other problems. According to Przeworski and Frank (1995) “help your reader understand where the problem intersects the main theoretical debates in your field and show how this inquiry puts established ideas to the test or offers new ones. Good proposals demonstrate awareness of alternative viewpoints and argue the author’s position in such a way as to address the field broadly, rather than developing a single sectarian tendency indifferent to alternatives”. Use a fresh approach: Unless nothing is original, popular topics should be avoided. Usually, everyone is interested in popular topics. Thus, others may have already made a decisive and exciting contribution in the field. Thus, a fresh beginning would be easier for the researcher as well as to attract the reviewers as a new area. Describe methodology as sound: Research methodology is one of the major areas reviewers critically look at. Reviewers want to make sure that the proposed methodology can realize the objectives or test the hypothesis of the study. The research design should be logically apt for the study. It should be specific as much as possible in describing the plan of data collection, data analysis, and interpretation of findings. A comparative research design has special appeal as it raises the value of research. Specify the purpose of conducting the study: A well-written research proposal ends by referring to the purpose of the research. How the different activities proposed, and the results of those activities connect with the purpose of the research? How it will be known whether the idea or hypothesis is right or wrong? How do the findings contribute to knowledge and/or solving practical problems? The proposal should mention all these. Incorporate comments/suggestions: It is beneficial to prepare a draft proposal and collect colleagues’, peers’, experts’, and funding agency’s comments on it either in person or through seminar or workshop, revise accordingly and finalize. Text, language, style, and form should be revised further and re-sharpen the opening paragraph(s) after finalizing the proposal.

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Conclusions: A conclusion should be at the end of a research proposal stating the whole study in brief. It should include the objectives and methodology of the study and, more importantly, why the research is important and to whom and how the findings will be useful. The conclusion section should also highlight the researcher’s capability of conducting the research.

An Example of a Research Proposal9 Title Microcredit in the family causes children’s dropout from education.

Introduction and Statement of the Problem Noting the importance of education, several programmes have been taken to improve the child education situation of Bangladesh. Reports, however, show that dropout from education is still very high. According to BANBEIS10 (2017), the dropout rate at the primary level in Bangladesh was 19.2 percent in 2016. At the secondary level, BANBEIS data show that the dropout rate was 40.3 in 2015 (Hasnat, 2017). According to the primary education certificate (PEC) examination result, about 3.1 million children passed the PEC and equivalent examinations in 2015.11 As per the Bangladesh education system, after three years, these children are supposed to take part in Junior School Certificate (JDC) and equivalent examinations in 2018. However, in 2018, the total number of children who appeared on the JSC & JDC examination was 2.6 million.12 That is, about 0.4 million children dropped out from education between PEC & equivalent and JSC & equivalent examinations. The majority of the dropouts are happening among poor families. Why is this happening among the poor? Not many studies investigated the issue. However, this situation is not acceptable and deserves to be addressed. It is worth mentioning that, nowadays, almost every poor family is participating in microcredit programmes in Bangladesh. These loans are given to the women members of the family. One compulsory condition of microcredit is that repayment instalment starts immediately after the loan is taken. As the microcredit recipient poor families severely lack resources to manage the repayment instalments, they 9

Points discussed briefly are indicative and there is scope elaboration. Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics 11 https://www.dhakatribune.com/uncategorized/2015/12/31/psc-pass-rate-98-52-ebtedayee95-13. 12 https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2018/12/24/jsc-jdc-pass-rate-85.83-gpa-5.0-rate-drops-sha rply. 10

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need to invest the loan immediately, so that they can accrue the money necessary for repaying instalments. Understandably, very small projects can be taken with microcredit. Whatever the size of the projects taken with microcredit, it requires labour. As hired labour is not feasible for small projects taken with microcredit, family labour is the only option. Usually, women in Bangladesh are heavily engaged in household activities while the husband remains engaged in his usual earning activities. As an obvious option, mother (loan recipient) may engage her grown-up children in the projects undertaken with microcredit. This might negatively affect the study of these children and be reflected through dropout from education. There are plenty of studies on microcredit but, so far, nothing is known about this issue. Moreover, most of the studies on microcredit have shown the positive impact of microcredit on almost every aspect of the life of the recipients including the education of children. Hence, it is necessary to know whether there is any negative relation between microcredit and the dropout of children from education. In this context, the proposed study intends to look at the issue. The findings of the study will add new knowledge in the microcredit field as well as help the policymakers in necessary policy formulation to reduce dropout from education.

The Objective of the Study The broad objective of the proposed study is to see the relation between microcredit and children’s dropout from education. The specific objectives will be: (1) (2) (3) (4)

To know about the projects undertaken by microcredit; To know about children’s involvement in the projects undertaken by microcredit; To know the relation between microcredit in family and study of children; and To recommend how children’s dropout from education can be reduced.

Research Questions The major research question is to examine whether there is any relation between microcredit in family and education children. The specific questions in the light of the theoretical framework present in the problem statement section are: (1) Are the children engaged in the projects undertaken by microcredit? (2) Are the children engaged in the microcredit project become irregular/less attentive in the study? (3) Are the children engaged in microcredit project dropout from school? (4) How the negative impact of microcredit on child education, if any, can be minimized?

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Hypothesis There is a relationship between microcredit in family and children’s dropout from education.

Theoretical Framework Projects undertaken with microcredit require labour. As hired labour is not feasible in the small-scale projects taken with microcredit, grown-up children of the family become engaged in the microcredit projects affecting their education leading to dropping out of school. Here, children’s involvement in microcredit projects is an independent variable and dropout from education is the dependent variable.

Conceptual Framework Children of poor families engage in projects undertaken with microcredit causing their dropout from education. The independent variable ‘children’s involvement in microcredit project’ is qualitative and will be measured in two categories, i.e. ‘involved’ and ‘not involved’. The dependent variable ‘dropout from education’ is also a qualitative variable and will be measured in two categories, i.e. ‘dropped out’ and ‘continuing study’. Some extraneous variables will be taken into consideration, e.g. the number of family members, type of project, age, gender, and merit of children, occupation of the male family head.

Definition of Concepts Microcredit: There are numerous organizations providing microcredit in Bangladesh. Of them, small loans (roughly up to BDT 50,000/−) given by Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), Grameen Bank (GB), Association for Social Advancement (ASA), and Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) will be considered in the proposed study. Children: Children who appeared in the PEC examination of 2015 will be considered. Dropout from education: Children who appeared and passed the PEC & equivalent examination of 2015 are supposed to appear in the JSC & equivalent examination of 2018. Thus, children who passed in PEC & equivalent examination 2015 but not appeared in JSC & equivalent examination 2016 will be considered as a dropout from education.

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Methodology Design: The study will follow the ‘only after study with one control group’ experimental design. That is, two groups of families of the same socioeconomic status and having children who appeared in the PEC & equivalent examination of 2015 will be selected. Among two groups, families of one group will have microcredit and families of another group will be without microcredit. The group with microcredit will be treated as an experimental group and the group without microcredit will be treated as a control group. Data regarding whether appeared in the JSC & equivalent examination of 2018 and their involvement in microcredit will be collected and compared through cross tables to test the study hypothesis. Unit of analysis: Children appeared in the PEC & equivalent examination of 2015. Study area: All Bangladesh. Population: All children appeared in the PEC & equivalent examination of 2015. Sampling: Multi-stage random sampling method will be used as follows: Stage-1: 8 Districts (one each from 8 Divisions of Bangladesh) will be selected randomly; Stage-2: 8 Upazilas (one from each of the selected 8 Districts) will be selected randomly; Stage-3: 16 Unions (two from each of the selected 8 Upazilas) will be selected randomly; Stage-4: 32 wards (two from each of the selected 16 Unions) will be selected randomly; Stage-5: 640 families with children who appeared in the PEC examination 2015 (10 with microcredit and 10 without microcredit from each of selected 32 wards) of the same socio-economic status will be selected randomly from the lists of such families prepared based on information taken from microcredit organizations operating in the area and from educational institutions. Stage-6: Finally, one child appeared in the PEC examination of 2015 from each of the 640 selected families will be included in the sample. In this way, the sample size will be 640 children (320 with microcredit family and 320 without microcredit family). It is expected that families with children who appeared as well as did not appear in JSC & equivalent examination 2018 will be included in the sample. Sources of data: The family head/school-age children and school records. Instrument of data collection: A structured questionnaire in Bangla, finalized through pre-test, will be used for data collection. Data about the children’s appearance in the JSC examination of 2018 will be taken from school records. Method of data collection: Data will be collected using the survey method, i.e., through face-to-face interviews and compiled from school records. Data collection from the field: Two teams will collect data from the field. Each team will be composed of four interviewers and one supervisor. A team will cover

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four Upazilas and stay about one week in each Upazila. Data collection will be completed in one month. Data processing and analysis: Data will be computerized, analysed, and interpreted using software like SPSS, Excel, etc. Appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical techniques will be used to analyse and interpret data.

Presentation of Findings Findings will be presented through a written research report. A draft report will be prepared and given to the proper authority for comments and suggestions. According to the suggestions, the draft report will be finalized and submitted to the authority.

Work/Schedule of the Study The study will be completed in six months as follows: Time Work Preparation

Jan. 2022 Feb. 2022 Mar. 2022 Apr. 2022 May 2022 Jun. 2022

Personnel & training Data collection Data processing Data analysis Draft report submission Final report submission

Personnel of the Study The personnel structure of the study has been presented in the table below. Mr X will work as the Project Director. An experienced Research Associate will help the Project Director. Interviewers will be experienced in data collection and BSS degree holders, and Supervisors will be MSS degree holders. They will be trained properly. Personnel who take part in the study are:

10 Designing Research Proposal in Quantitative Approach Designation

Sl

Number

155 Months

1

Project Director (PD)

1

6

2

Research Associate (RA)

1

6

4

Field Supervisor (FS)

2

2

3

Field Interviewer (FI)

8

1

4

Data Entry Operator (DEO)

1

2

Budget of the Study The budget for the proposed study is presented below: Salary/Honorarium 1

Project director—1

BDT 75,000/- per month * 6 Months

BDT 450,000/-

2

Research associate—1

BDT 50,000/- per month * 6 Months

BDT 300,000/-

3

Data analyst/statistician—1 BDT 40,000- per month * 2 months

BDT 80,000/-

3

Field supervisor (FS)—2

2 * BDT 25,000/- per month * 2 Months

BDT 100,000/-

4

Field interviewer (FI)—8

8 * BDT 20,000/- per month * 1 Month

BDT 160,000/-

5

Data entry operator

1 * BDT 20,000/- per month * 2 Months

BDT 40,000/-

A

Total salary/Honourarium

BDT 1,130,000/-

Travel and daily allowance 1

TA for FI & FS—10 (during training and fieldwork)

2

DA & local transport for FI & FS—10 (During 10 * BDT BDT 250,000/training and fieldwork) 1,000/- Per day * 25 Days

3

TA/DA for PD and RA -2

B

Total transport and daily allowance

10 * BDT 1,000/- per Upazila * 4

2 * 5,000/per visit * 2 visits each

BDT 40,000/-

BDT 20,000/-

BDT 310,000/-

Others C

Printing of questionnaire

BDT 10,000/-

D

Computer accessories (Pen Drive, Printer, etc.)

BDT 50,000/-

E

Stationary (Paper, Pen, Bag, File, etc.)

BDT 20,000/(continued)

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(continued) F

Relevant document purchase/copy

BDT 10,000/-

G

Report (5 reports Reproduction and Binding)

BDT 5,000/-

H

Miscellaneous

BDT 20,000/-

Grand Total (A + B + C + D + E + F + G + H)

BDT 1,555,000/-(US$ = 19,198/-)

(BDT Fifteen Lac Fifty Five Thousands Only)

References Arboleda, C. R. (1981). Communication research. Communication Foundation for Asia. Babbie, E. R. (2010). The practice of social research (12th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage. BANBEIS (Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics). (2017). Bangladesh education statistics 2016. Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS). Borbasi, S., & Jackson, D. (2012). Navigating the maze of research. Mosby Elsevier. Burns, N., Grove, S. K. (2009). The practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis and generation of evidence. Saunders Elsevier. Creswell, J. W. (1994). Research design: Qualitative & quantitative approaches. SAGE Publications. Hasnat, M. A. (2017). School enrollment high but dropouts even higher. Dhaka Tribune September 8, 2017. https://www.Dhakatribune.com/Bangladesh/education/2017/09/08/school-enrollmenthigh-dropouts-even-higher. https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2018/12/24/jsc-jdc-pass-rate-85.83-gpa-5.0-rate-drops-sharply. https://www.dhakatribune.com/uncategorized/2015/12/31/psc-pass-rate-98-52-ebtedayee-95-13. http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/researchproposal. https://www.scribd.com/document/40384531/Research-Proposal-1. Institute of International Studies. (n.d). Dissertation proposal workshop. Institute of International Studies. http://iis.berkeley.edu/node/424. Pajares, F. (n.d). The elements of a proposal. Emory University. Retrieved from http://www.uky. edu/~eushe2/Pajares/ElementsOfaProposal.pdf. Przeworski, A., & Frank, S. (1995). On the art of writing proposals: some candid suggestions for applicants to social science research council competitions. Social Science Research Council. Retrieved from http://iis.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/the_art_of_writing_proposals.pdf. University of Michigan. (n.d). Research and sponsored projects. http://orsp.umich.edu/proposalwriters-guide-research-proposals-title-page.

Chapter 11

Experimental Method Syed Tanveer Rahman and Md. Rabiul Islam

Abstract Research is conducted to investigate the relationship between variables (Tuckman and Harper in Conducting educational research. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2012). Among all research methods, the experimental design is considered to be the most scientific one as it can establish a “causal relation” between one or more independent variables and one or more dependent variables using control mechanisms upon empirical observation. For social research, however, true experimentation with rigorous control over the situation might seem to be very intriguing and challenging due to the conditions and participants. That is why the quasi-experimental design is often very popular with social researchers. Both of the designs have their types with advantages and disadvantages, and also with prominent characteristics. The researcher has to decide to resort to the appropriate design depending on the purpose and objective of the research. The sampling technique, instruments for measurement, statistical analyses, and finally the interpretation of data as per the design of the research too. Keywords Experimental design · Quasi-experimental method · Social research

Introduction A research problem investigates whether there is any relationship among variables in nature. To study this, there are several research methods and designs available for researchers from varied disciplines and backgrounds. For example, naturalistic observation, correlational research, longitudinal and cross-sectional survey researches, laboratory experimentation, and so on. Depending on the nature and purpose of the

S. T. Rahman Department of Psychology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] Md. Rabiul Islam (B) Institute of Social Welfare and Research, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_11

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research question a researcher selects the appropriate method and more specifically, the design to conduct the specific research. Among so many research designs only the experimental design is the most scientific based on empirical data (Bliemer & Rose, 2011). It utilizes the technique of randomization and control over the extraneous variables through the manipulation of treatment levels of the independent variable(s). In this way, this design is capable of establishing cause and effect relationships between independent and dependent variables, sometimes, showing the whole process of influencing each other (Vargas et al., 2017). Thus, researchers prefer to resort to experimentation wherever or whenever it is deemed to be applicable. In the case of many social science research, however, the sample and measures, i.e., the people and their social behaviour within natural settings pose a big challenge to a social researcher to successfully conduct true experimentation. To overcome the limitation, the quasi-experimental design is available in social researchers’ hands. Different types of experimental and quasi-experimental designs are shortly discussed as follows;

Definitions, Types, and Characteristics of Experimental Designs The experimental design is the most scientifically sophisticated design that can be ideally defined as the “observation under controlled conditions” (Thyer, 2012). It is concerning the hypothesis testing of the effect of the independent variables on the dependent variables. The experimenter manipulates the independent variables through treatment(s) or intervention(s) and at the same time, controls the extraneous variables to observe only the effect of the independent variables upon the dependent variables (Flannelly et al., 2018).

Experimental Design Definition: A true experimental design consists of the researcher’s complete control mechanism over probable extraneous variables and predicts the effect of independent variable on the dependent variable with statistical significance. Characteristics of true experimental design: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

Manipulation Control Randomization Internal validity

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(v) External Validity. Manipulation in a true experiment, refers to the researcher’s conscious control or variation in administration of the level of treatments of an independent variable to investigate its effect on the dependent variable (Kennedy & Bush, 1985). For example, if a social researcher wants to study the effect of the number of people present around on getting help in an emergency, the researcher will vary the number of people involved in the study remaining in the same emergency settings. Control can be defined as using a control group and/or control techniques in an experiment to eliminate probable confounds (Mann, 2003). Usually, the participants in both the control and experimental groups are more or less equal in number and of similar characteristics; except the control group receives zero level of experimental treatment, i.e., no real independent variable. Instead, they get a placebo-like treatment in the experimental group. Participants are randomly selected to the control and experimental groups. For example, when a social researcher investigates the role of intervention by social workers upon patients admitted to hospitals, he or she will compare between two groups of patients and their relatives, one of whom gets such intervention whereas the other does not. The sample that receives the treatment is considered as the experimental group; on the other hand, the sample that is deprived of the treatment is called the control group. Three major considerations for control: (i) Participant variables—balancing participants’ age or ability like IQ. (ii) Researcher variables—the researcher’s expressed behaviour, appearance, or gender whatever could affect participant’s responses are standardized throughout the experiment. (iii) Situational variables—standard physical conditions throughout the experiment like light, sound, and temperature. Randomization means each element of the population has a nonzero (mostly, equal) probability to be selected in the sample of the experiment only based on chance (random basis) (Lee, 2008). Through this technique, any chance of systemic bias is eliminated. It ensures the elimination of the effect of extraneous variables that increases the internal validity of the experiment. It works upon the sample by deviating the characteristics of the participants of both experimental and control groups. Lottery, random tables, computerized random sequencing, etc. can be used to select the sample randomly and assign them into either experimental or control groups for the research (Figs. 11.2, 11.3 and 11.4). The Internal Validity of an experiment concerns the inner strength of the control of the confounding effect inside the experiment (Welsh et al., 2011). An experiment would be considered to have a high or satisfactory level of internal validity if it can replicate similar results in repeated administration upon the same sample. It is not concerned with the generalizability of the experiment’s result external to other situations or contexts.

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External Validity is related to generalization. When an experiment has a high or satisfactory level of external validity, its findings could be generalized outside the scope of that experiment, i.e., the results would be equally applicable to other similar situations or experiments. A true experiment can be of several types that are as follows; (Figs. 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.4, 11.5, 11.6 and 11.7). Advantages and disadvantages of true experimental design:

Fig. 11.1 Different types of true experimental design (reprinted after slide share presentation on 7 May 2013, permission taken from Jayesh Patidar, Mehsana, Gujarat, India). N.B. The figure is used from a publicly shared slide at slideshare.net after getting permission from the author and its reference is also cited (at the reference section.)

Fig. 11.2 Post-test-only control design (reprinted after slide share presentation on 7 May 2013, permission taken from Dr. Jayesh Patidar, Mehsana, Gujarat, India). N.B. The figure is used from a publicly shared slide at slideshare.net after getting permission from the author and its reference is also cited (at the reference section.)

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Fig. 11.3 Pre-test-post-test-only design (reprinted after slide share presentation on 7 May 2013, permission taken from Dr. Jayesh Patidar, Mehsana, Gujarat, India). N.B. The figure is used from a publicly shared slide at slideshare.net after getting permission from the author and its reference is also cited (at the reference section.)

Fig. 11.4 Solomon four-group design (reprinted after slide share presentation on 7 May 2013, permission taken from Dr. Jayesh Patidar, Mehsana, Gujarat, India). N.B. The figure is used from a publicly shared slide at slideshare.net after getting permission from the author and its reference is also cited (at the reference section.)

● A true experimental design is the only scientific or systematic way to investigate and establish the causal (cause and effect) relationship between IV and DV. ● It is the most suitable method for explanatory research involving the measurement of physical objects. ● It provides a great deal of accurate observation and measurement. ● In field experiments, social conditions not found naturally can be simulated by the researcher. ● Simulated conditions can also be created in a short time that may happen naturally after a long time.

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Fig. 11.5 Factorial design (reprinted after slide share presentation on 7 May 2013, permission taken from Dr. Jayesh Patidar, Mehsana, Gujarat, India). N.B. The figure is used from a publicly shared slide at slideshare.net after getting permission from the author and its reference is also cited (at the reference section.)

Fig. 11.6 Randomized block design (reprinted after slide share presentation on 7 May 2013, permission taken from Dr. Jayesh Patidar, Mehsana, Gujarat, India). N.B. The figure is used from a publicly shared slide at slideshare.net after getting permission from the author and its reference is also cited (at the reference section.)

Fig. 11.7 A crossover design (reprinted after slide share presentation on 7 May 2013, permission taken from Dr. Jayesh Patidar, Mehsana, Gujarat, India). N.B. The figure is used from a publicly shared slide at slideshare.net after getting permission from the author and its reference is also cited (at the reference section.)

● The researcher has total control over the experimental setting at his or her level best.

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● True experimental design has constraints on ethical problems in social researches using human samples. For example, patients in hospitals cannot be deprived of treatment or intervention due to serving the purpose of the control group. ● In the case of many social types of research, natural settings do not permit rigorous control over the whole environment all the time. ● Participants’ reluctance to cooperate properly is another issue in following true experimental design in social researches.

Quasi-experimental Design In contrast to a true experimental design, in the case of quasi-experimental research design, the levels of an IV cannot be manipulated by the researcher in a completely controlled manner, rather the levels of the IV are some kinds of natural events or characteristics (Asgari & Baptista Nunes, 2011). Here, the experimenter only can assign participants to groups based on natural characteristics or events. For example, the gender or sex of the participant cannot be manipulated by the researcher in a study, however, he/she (the researcher) only can assign male and female participants into two different samples (Figs. 11.8 and 11.9). There are two types of quasi-experimental designs 1. Non-randomized control group design 2. Time-series design Advantages and disadvantages of quasi-experimental design: ● A quasi-experimental design is more practical and feasible to conduct in many social types of research where a large sample, randomization technique, control group are not available. ● Sometimes, this design has superiority over true laboratory experiments because it is more suitable for real-world or natural settings.

Fig. 11.8 Nonrandomized control group design (reprinted after slide share presentation on 7 May 2013, permission taken from Dr. Jayesh Patidar, Mehsana, Gujarat, India). N.B. The figure is used from a publicly shared slide at the slideshare.net after getting permission from the author, and its reference is also cited in the reference section.

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Fig. 11.9 Time-series design (reprinted after slide share presentation on 7 May 2013, permission taken from Dr. Jayesh Patidar, Mehsana, Gujarat, India). N.B. The figure is used from a publicly shared slide at the slideshare.net after getting permission from the author, and its reference is also cited in the reference section.

● It allows the researcher to assess the effect of a quasi-independent variable under natural circumstances. ● Its major disadvantage is the less control over extraneous variables than true experiments. ● Sometimes, the lack of a true control group or lack of control over the research situation risks the internal and external validity of the experimentation.

Importance/Uses of Experimental Design to Social Researches It can be implied that a true laboratory experiment vis-à-vis experimental (research) method is only suitable for the disciplines of natural science like physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, engineering, and so on (Mansilla et al., 2006). And usually, the variables dealt with in researches in the field of social science are often measured in nominal, ordinal, and at best interval scales rather than ratio scales. So, the use of the experimental method is not so easy and is very often used research method in much social research. Appropriately adaptive application of experimental method discussed above with examples, however, can increase the strength of scientific social investigations. Well, the social researchers may not be able to manipulate the levels of IV like medical practitioners, yet, they can assign participants into different groups of samples based on the criteria of the levels of the independent variables. There are many famous classical social pieces of research available in the history of human civilization and culture. Some of them are also available on YouTube, e.g., ● Stanley Milgram Experiment—Will people obey orders, even if dangerous? ● Asch Experiment—Will people conform to group behaviour? ● Stanford Prison Experiment—How do people react to roles? Will you behave differently? ● Good Samaritan Experiment—Would You Help a Stranger?—Explaining Helping Behaviour.

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References Asgari, S., & Baptista Nunes, J. M. B. (2011). Experimental and quasi-experimental research in information systems. Bliemer, M. C., & Rose, J. M. (2011). Experimental design influences on stated choice outputs: An empirical study in air travel choice. Transportation Research Part a: Policy and Practice, 45(1), 63–79. Flannelly, K. J., Flannelly, L. T., & Jankowski, K. R. (2018). Threats to the internal validity of experimental and quasi-experimental research in healthcare. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, 24(3), 107–130. Kennedy, J. J., & Bush, A. J. (1985). An introduction to the design and analysis of experiments in behavioral research. University Press of America. Lee, D. S. (2008). Randomized experiments from non-random selection in US House elections. Journal of Econometrics, 142(2), 675–697. Mann, C. J. (2003). Observational research methods. Research design II: Cohort, cross sectional, and case-control studies. Emergency Medicine Journal, 20(1), 54–60. Mansilla, V. B., Navakas, F., & Fiscella, J. (2006). Interdisciplinary work at the frontier: An empirical examination of expert epistemologies. Issues in Interdisciplinary Studies. Thyer, B. A. (2012). Quasi-experimental research designs. Oxford University Press. Tuckman, B. W., & Harper, B. E. (2012). Conducting educational research. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Vargas, P. T., Duff, B. R., & Faber, R. J. (2017). A practical guide to experimental advertising research. Journal of Advertising, 46(1), 101–114. Welsh, B. C., Peel, M. E., Farrington, D. P., Elffers, H., & Braga, A. A. (2011). Research design influence on study outcomes in crime and justice: A partial replication with public area surveillance. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 7(2), 183–198.

Chapter 12

Social Survey Method Isahaque Ali, Azlinda Azman, Shahid Mallick, Tahmina Sultana, and Zulkarnain A. Hatta

Abstract The survey method is one of the most commonly used methods in all branches of social sciences research. Social survey research, which includes crosssectional and longitudinal research, is best used to gain information about large populations and measure public attitudes and orientations in a large population. The motivation of the respondent and openness of the researchers is of utmost importance for survey research. The chapter will guide young researchers on how to clearly distinguish between the survey method and other methods used in social sciences research. Keywords Social research · Survey · Questionnaire · Structured interview

Introduction The social survey remains one of the most commonly employed research techniques (Didier Marquis & Wiles-Portier, 2010), especially in social sciences, social work, and other pertinent areas including health, population services, and census. This method was initiated by British social reformers in the Victorian era to obtain data on poverty and labouring-class life (Converse, 2009; Kelley et al., 2003; Ponto, 2015; Rubin & Babbie, 2011). Social survey research is best used to gain information about large populations (Check & Schutt, 2012). Social surveys do not control for or manipulate the independent variables or the treatments. It is also a non-explanatory I. Ali (B) · A. Azman School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] S. Mallick · T. Sultana Department of Sociology and Social Work, Gono University, Dhaka, Bangladesh Z. A. Hatta Faculty of Social Science, Arts and Humanities, Lincoln University College, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

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research design, as it uses a statistical test to measure variables and their relationship with others. Social surveys could capture beliefs, practices, or situations from a random sample using a survey questionnaire or structured interview (Bhattacherjee, 2012). In conducting a survey, the researcher identifies the sample of respondents and administers a highly structured and straightforward questionnaire to obtain information for the data grid (Massey & Tourangeau, 2013; Rubin & Babbie, 2011). The survey method is a quantitative research tool, recognized for its structured collection of data about a population through the use of contemporary questions (Kendra, 2016). This chapter attempts to explain the method of social survey, its characteristics, types, significance, merits, demerits, and limitations.

Meanings and Definition of Survey Research Although the social survey is a very old research technique, it is still one of the most favoured methods in social science study. A probability survey is best used to describe a pre-determined population using a small sample (Rubin & Babbie, 2016). Different researchers and methodology experts have defined social survey in different ways, which are discussed below: According to Duncan Mitchell’s Dictionary of Sociology, a social survey can be defined as “a systematic collection of facts about people living in a specific geographic, cultural or administrative area”. Meanwhile, Bogardus described it as “the collection of data concerning the living and working conditions, broadly speaking of the people in a given community”. Another definition offered by the Oxford Dictionary is that a survey undertakes a close examination of someone or something: It also includes evaluating and recording the area and characteristics of (a land) to build a map, plan, or description: It assesses the ideas, experience, or behaviour of (a group of people) by questioning them. Creswell (2009) and Babbie (2012) indicated that survey research quantitatively describes trends, behaviours, or opinions of a population-based on a sample study. Social survey research can be divided into cross-sectional and longitudinal studies; both studies rely on questions or structured interviews to obtain sample data, which can be generalized to a population. Furthermore, Kendra (2016) stressed that ‘a survey may attempt to obtain factual information or opinions of respondents’. Summarily, ‘a survey is a method by which self-reported information of individuals is obtained’. De Vaus (2014) mentioned that the survey method refers to compiling information in an organized and scientific way from a few or all units of the population using distinct thoughts, procedures, and methods in a prescribed form. It is very useful when there is insufficient data. De Vaus also established that questionnaires, along with other methods like structured and in-depth interviews, content analysis, and observation, which are also used in the survey research, have been widely used for compiling data. Blackstone (2012) categorized the social survey

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under a quantitative data collection method, where researchers use a set of a questionnaire for the sample, individuals or entire groups. The social survey approach is very effective for a large group of people or a large sample. This approach assists researchers to identify specific individuals or locations and capturing in-depth information about the population (Singleton & Straits, 2009). In this regard, as reflected by the various definitions above, a social survey is a method of collecting data consistently or systematically.

Characteristics of Social Survey Similar to other research methods, survey research has some distinguishing features, which set it apart from other social research methods. Different social science research methodology experts have characterized the survey method with various characteristics (Jackson, 2011). Check and Schutt (2012) noted that, although the explanatory and measured variables in survey research are employed in the specification of the study scope, they cannot be explicitly controlled by the researcher. In this light, a social survey has three unique features, which are: (a) In the majority of cases, the survey method is used in quantitative research design and in examining the relations between variables. (b) In survey research, the required particular data is collected from people. (c) During the survey, some portion of the sample has been selected to generalize the total population. Phillips et al. (2013) highlighted that an effective survey method must satisfy the following criteria: measurable survey objectives, good research designs; clear survey question; reasonable sampling plan when needed; effective survey response strategy; and purposeful data summary, display and reporting. Employing a good survey design is important to ensure the alignment between surveys and social sciences. A well-designed survey should consider the demographic information of the targeted survey respondents (Ponto, 2015). The focus of the survey needs to be very clear; for example, a researcher intending to survey the health situations of garments workers of Bangladesh must have a specific view about the types of health problems he/she should focus on. The items in the questionnaire should be simple, clear, and free from jargon. It is good to avoid two-part questions, as some participants would only answer one part of the questions and leave the other part, and this could have some implications on the quality of the survey (Costanzo et al., 2012). In a close-ended questionnaire, it is useful to provide a section that allows comments from respondents. Questions should also be logically organized and presented in the questionnaire form and a logical sequence (Check & Schutt, 2012). The motivation of the respondent and openness of the researchers also contributes to the effectiveness of survey research (Farrell & Petersen, 2010).

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Survey The social survey method is the most commonly used research method in social sciences due to its applicability, general acceptability, and wide acceptance. On the other hand, there are also some limitations to this method (Chang & Krosnick, 2009). Table 12.1 shows major advantages and limitations of the social survey:

When and Why Social Survey Could Be Used in Social Research Research can be categorized into three, namely exploratory, descriptive, and causal. Each research has unique features and outcomes, which will be used in certain ways. A social survey in social research is considered a descriptive and conclusive survey due to its quantitative nature (Didier Marquis & Wiles-Portier, 2010). Consequently, researchers are expected to direct pre-established questions to the entire group or sample of individuals, especially if they intend to delineate certain characteristics of a very large population or obtain particular information about them within a short period (Denscombe, 2010). In addition, the use of the survey method helps researchers to recognize particular persons or areas to obtain the data. Survey research, just like other methods of data collection, is suitable for responding to several forms of research questions such as defining an opinion, attitude, or behaviour held by a group of people and statistics of a given subject (Didier Marquis & Wiles-Portier, 2010). There are four benefits of choosing the survey method. First, the survey method is less costly or more cost-effective compared to other survey methods. Second, the survey method is extensive and useful for gathering large data in a short period. Third, it is flexible and can be administered in different modes as mentioned earlier. Finally, it is also dependable, as the anonymity of the survey allows the respondent to answer more confidently, which could lead to more accurate data. Anonymity is the essence of survey research where it provides an avenue for more honest and unambiguous response than other types of research methodologies (Denscombe, 2010).

Types of Sampling A sample can be defined as a group of respondents that are selected from and representative of a large population. The two types of sampling include probability and non-probability sampling. ● Probability sampling involves the selection of respondents based on probability theory. In other words, all individuals in the population have an equal chance of

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Table 12.1 Advantages and disadvantages of social survey Advantages

Disadvantages

• Surveys are unsuitable to use when there is a • Due to the very structural form of its nature, a requirement for obtaining historical context social survey is very easy to administer and use. phenomena (Check & Schutt, 2012). For This method can be administered via various modes, including in-person, door-to-door, example, a researcher may be interested focused regular electronic mail or even via telephone on historical events like the liberation war in calls Bangladesh • It is not possible to obtain sufficient information • The survey allows data to be collected from a through relying on surveys and there is a need large sample in a short period and it is easier to to use another research method such as case generalize responses from a large sample to the study, content analysis or in-depth interview general population. Examples of surveys • Another main weakness of the survey is related include population census and the crop census bias. Biases may occur either due to the lack of of Bangladesh, surveys are inclusive and require response from the survey respondents or due to minimal investment. Surveys make it easier to the nature and accuracy of the responses that are collect abstract data like psychological data, received. For instance, in a study on income and which are difficult to collect through other satisfaction of garments workers in Bangladesh, methods like the case study or ethnographic the questions and responses should be related to method. However, it is important to note that issues on income and satisfaction and that the surveys not only provide the exact measurement responses need to be well acquainted with the but also estimates for the true population issue to avoid misleading responses (Ponto, 2015) (Denscombe, 2010) • Other sources of errors include intentional misreporting by the respondent as everyone wants to feel good and informative and hide actual behaviour and as a result, the survey data becomes faulty. In addition, respondents may have difficulty assessing their behaviour or have poor recall of the circumstances surrounding their behaviour. This type of error or problem is more profound in studies using the cross-sectional survey method • The non-response and social desirability bias could create potential challenges in the use of the survey method. Non-responses are mostly related to structured and written surveys and it is frequently reported in mail and telephone surveys. However, social science methodology experts suggested the response rate of 85% or more is considered as very good while anything below 60% might severely impact the representativeness of the sample (Kendra, 2016) • Social desirability bias is when people respond in a way that makes them look better than they are. For example, a respondent might report that they engage in healthier behaviours than they do in real life (Farrell & Petersen, 2010). In addition, respondents in a study on the domestic stand might show that they believe in the desirable family and cultural values, but in real life, the person himself is in engaging in domestic violence

172 Table 12.2 Main differences between cross-sectional and longitudinal studies

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Cross-sectional

Longitudinal studies

Timeline

One point of time

Multiple points of time

Sample types

Different (fresh sample Same sample each time)

Results

Deliver snapshot in a given point of time

Provides details of changes over time

being selected (Massey & Tourangeau, 2013). The probability sampling method uses random sample techniques for the selection of samples. ● Non-probability sampling is a technique that uses non-random or convenient sampling.

Types of Social Survey In line with the extant studies and from the practical perspective, we can divide the survey methods into various categories. The type of social survey to be used could be determined by the time allocation and how the survey is being administrated. For instance, when and what frequencies surveys are being administered and carried out on the respondents. In most cases, survey-based studies could be categorized into cross-sectional and longitudinal. A cross-sectional study is performed at a snapshot. This type of survey provides investigators with a generalized view of the time and events pertinent to issues being studied and are usually based on the past experiences of the respondents (Blackstone, 2012). In this light, the limitations of cross-sectional surveys could be minimized by implementing longitudinal surveys. The main differences between cross-sectional and longitudinal studies are presented in Table 12.2.

The Social Survey Life Cycle Project leads may be responsible for supervising the work and ensuring the association between people and the elements of the social survey life cycles. Study design and organizational structure: This encompasses establishing the research problems, research’s aims and objectives, attainable resources, funding source for a survey, study type (cross-sectional or panel), study duration, numbers of the interview, capacity of research and available infrastructure in the major areas (presence of sampling frames, field staff and technical systems) and data collection procedure (Hibben et al., 2016, p. 6). Study management: This entails establishing requirements, tackling the demands, worries and expectations of stakeholders, securing effective communication means,

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neutralizing contending challenges, and concluding major procedures and phases of the project (Scott et al., 2016, p. 34). The steps of study management are shown in Table 12.3 and the social survey lifecycle in Fig. 12.1.

Box 12.1: Common types of longitudinal studies Trend survey: This is performed by researchers whose interest is to examine the dynamics of people’s inclinations Panel survey: This involves repeated assessment of the same households or individuals at different points in time. Examples of panel surveys are the Living Standards Measurement (LSMS) of the World Bank, Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of USAID and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys of UNICEF Cohort survey: This involves monitoring and recording the behaviours of groups of individuals exposed to similar life events in a given period Retrospective survey: This type of survey compares a group of people with a disease or condition under study (cases) with another group without the disease or condition (controls) Longitudinal surveys, which include trend, panel, cohort, and retrospective surveys, facilitate researchers’ examination of an issue for a long time. In conducting a trend survey, the researcher will observe or examine a change in trend over time. It is noteworthy that participation of the same people is not required in a trend survey (Ponto, 2015). One example of this form of study is a survey to observe rainfall trends or decreasing underground water in the northern part of Bangladesh. The key variable here is the trend, rather than a particular people or community. As for the panel survey, it is conducted with the same people (panel) over time, and data are collected from a sequence of interviews (Jackson, 2011). For example, in a survey that focuses on youth and extremism in Bangladesh, 100 youth will be interviewed each year or every 3 or 5 years. The researcher will need to trace the respondents’ behaviours and lifestyles including their residence, employment, course of study, daily activities, etc. While this could be a huge task and involve a large number of resources and time-consuming, the result could be powerful. Another form of longitudinal study is the cohort study. This form of study recognizes several categories of people, and researchers need to frequently collect information from them. In this light, each respondent should meet the criteria for research, and the same people don’t need to participate each year. In a cohort study, a researcher may include people from the same generation, born in the same year, received the same education, have similar qualifications, work in the same place, have the same profession and share common life experiences (Denscombe, 2010; Ponto et al., 2010). For example, if a researcher’s research interest is on female garments workers or the work environment in the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Bangladesh, then he or she will survey the cohort of female garments workers or those working in EPZ.

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Table 12.3 Steps of study management Steps of study management 1. Tenders, bids and contracts • Prepare tenders with detailed requirements • Conduct a bidding process and select survey organizations • Negotiate and execute contracts 2. Sample design • Define the target population and determine the sample size • Identify the sampling frame • Implement a selection procedure 3. Questionnaire design • Select a comparative question design approach • Develop protocols for evaluating questions • Adopt questions, adapt questions 4. Adaptation and translation • Identify adaptation needs • Modify the questionnaire content, format or visual presentation • Adapt design features • Find, select and brief translators • Use existing or develop translation tools • Complete language harmonization 5. Instrument technical design • Develop design specifications for instruments and a sample management system • Develop interface design and programming guidelines • Determine testing specifications • Determine reporting specifications 6. Interviewer recruitment, selection and training • Determine required characteristics of interviewers • Recruit and hire interviewers • Select interviewer trainers • Create a training plan and determine the necessary training materials which may involve identifying existing materials or preparing new training materials

Sources Scott et al. (2016, p. 38)

7. Presetting and data collection • Determine the appropriate pretest method and design • Conduct a pilot study • Pretest the survey instrument with the target population • Select the appropriate data collection mode and develop procedures for that mode • Establish a protocol for managing the survey sample • Manage data collection and quality control • Consider potential risks and necessary backup plans if goals are not met 8. Para data and other auxiliary • Investigate the para data /auxiliary data available and informative to survey errors • Choose appropriate para data indicators for survey error and monitor the indicators starting at the initial phases of data collection • Implement interventions by altering the active features of the survey in subsequent phases or at real-time of the data collection based on cost/error tradeoff decision rules • Perform analysis using para data to investigate survey errors 9. Data harmonization • Determine a harmonization strategy • Determine the technical specifications of the system used for data harmonization • Use a systematic approach to harmonize variables • Compare and integrate information across data files 10. Data processing and statistical adjustment • Code survey responses and enter them into electronic form • Edit and clean data • Define data quality checks • Develop survey weights 11. Data dissemination • Preserve key data and documentation files • Produce public- and restricted-use data files • Prepare final data deliverables and reports 12. Statistical analysis • Apply statistical procedures to data files

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Fig. 12.1 The social survey lifecycle. Source Survey Research Center (2016)

A retrospective survey is a type of longitudinal study that compares two groups of people. It is conducted only once like a cross-sectional study. This kind of study emphasizes the existing data obtained from the respondents rather than conducting new research. The researcher will evaluate the respondent’s past beliefs, behaviour, and experiences within a short period. Hence, this form of study is cheaper to conduct. However, it is important to consider that the respondents’ past beliefs may differ from their current beliefs and the respondents may have little memory of what they experienced before. For instance, research can survey where, how, and with whom the respondents spent their Pahela Baishak (the first day of Bengali New Year). As Pahela Baishak is celebrated every year, there might be chances that their recollection could be incorrect. Table 12.4 presents the merits and demerits of interview, self-administered, telephone, mail, and online surveys. As discussed above, whether the survey falls into cross-sectional or longitudinal surveys depends on the time and frequencies of the

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survey being administered. Another important consideration in choosing a survey is how it is being administrated (Dillman et al., 2009). The most common survey type is self-administered surveys (not very common or usual practice in Bangladesh, but very common in Europe and America), which use self-administered questionnaires. A self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) allows respondents to answer the survey questionnaire without intervention from the research (Lavrakas, 2008). Hard copies of self-administered questionnaires can be sent to the respondents either using regular mail or e-mail. The researcher will ask the respondents to fill out the questionnaire directly or allocate a specific time for the respondents to respond to and return the completed questionnaire (Costanzo et al., 2012). In this regard, researchers have started to favour online surveys instead of door-to-door surveys. In some cases, the survey questions will be read by the researchers instead of asking the respondents to read them themselves. This kind of survey is the most prevalent in Bangladesh due to a high illiteracy rate. Another form of survey is an interview survey where an interview is conducted to collect information from two or more persons. This process is usually guided by a questionnaire or an interview guideline. However, the interview is time-consuming, and special skills and training are needed for those taking the role of the interviewer (Bhattacherjee, 2012). The interview can be conducted either by telephone or face to face. A researcher could use closed-ended questions, whereby the researcher limits the response choice or utilizes open-ended questions, which lack any option for the respondent, thus giving respondents the choice to answer the questions in their own words (Farrell & Petersen, 2010). Based on the aforementioned exposition, the researcher is required to understand the characteristics of the study population so that he/she could identify the appropriate mechanism to deliver the survey.

Role of Interviewer The interview is a complex and multifaceted issue; therefore, the interviewer should play an important role in the following tasks (Bhattacherjee, 2012, p. 79): ● Interview preparation: In survey research, the interviewer is the principal actor for collecting quality data. Hence, the interviewer should be well trained and skilful to conduct a successful interview. ● Identify location and schedule: The interviewer should identify the location and ensure the interview is conducted at a convenient time for the respondents. ● Motivate respondents: The interviewer must clarify the importance and objective of the research to motivate respondents to participate in the study. ● Clarify any questions or concerns: The interviewer should explain clearly any questions or concerns raised by the respondents for them to understand the subject matters. ● Observe the quality of response: The interviewer is the main judge to check the quality of collected information.

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Table 12.4 Advantages and disadvantages of interview surveys, self-administered surveys, telephone surveys, mail surveys and online surveys Survey method

Advantages

Disadvantages

Interview surveys

▪ The researcher fills out the questionnaire themselves rather than asking respondents ▪ The response rate is much higher, more valid data ▪ The interviewer can clarify questions easily ▪ The presence of the interviewer encourages participation

▪ Special interviewing skills are essential for conducting the interview ▪ Sample size limited ▪ Interviewer bias possible ▪ More labour requires for large geographic areas ▪ High cost ▪ Time-consuming

Self-administered surveys ▪ No interviewer to recruit, no training ▪ Cheap and essay to administer ▪ Reach to a large population ▪ Essay to coverage geographic areas ▪ No influence by the interviewer

▪ Low response rate ▪ Self-selection bias ▪ Slow form of collection ▪ More skipped question, misunderstanding and more mistake

Telephone surveys

▪ Wide coverage ▪ High response rate ▪ Better communication ▪ Reduce the rate of data error ▪ Familiarity with telephone technology ▪ Efficient data collection and storage

▪ More expensive ▪ Sampling bias ▪ No visual communication. Limited interview length ▪ Unreliable telephone access in some areas

Mail surveys

▪ Wide coverage ▪ Low cost ▪ Avoid interviewer bias ▪ Respondents get ample time to answer ▪ A sample might be hard to reach

▪ Good reading and writing skills are required by respondents ▪ Requires simple question ▪ No control over with respondents

Online surveys

▪ Easy access to a large population ▪ Reduced cost ▪ Higher response rate ▪ Higher flexibility ▪ Essay administration ▪ Reduce time and error of data entry

▪ Costly for the interviewer ▪ Lower response rate ▪ Requires higher literacy ▪ Multiple responses from the same person

Conclusions The social survey remains one of the most effective and popular methods of investigation in the social sciences. The social survey is a structured method of data collection and can be categorized into cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys. A cross-sectional survey is usually conducted once. However, some respondents are

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unable to link responses with his/her past, which might lead to insufficient results. Therefore, social survey methods involve several steps, including identification of the study problems and objectives; determination of the sample selection frame and design; preparation of the questionnaire; collection, processing and analysis of data; dissemination of results; and preparation of the final report. It is worthy of note that the application of social survey methods should be preceded by the researcher’s establishment of research design, study objectives, and study questions.

References Babbie, E. R. (2012). The practice of social research (13th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Bhattacherjee, A. (2012). Social science research: Principles, methods, and practices. Textbooks Collection. Book 3. Retrieved from, http://www.scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3 Blackstone, A. (2012). Sociological inquiry principles, qualitative and quantitative methods v.1.0. Retrieved from http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ Chang, L., & Krosnick, J. A. (2009). National surveys via random digital dialling (RDD) telephone interviewing versus the internet comparing sample representativeness and response quality. Public Opinion Quarterly, 73(4), 641–678. Check, J., & Schutt, R. K. (2012). Survey research. In J. Check, & R. K. Schutt (Eds.), Research methods in education (pp. 159–185). Sage Publications. Converse, J. M. (2009). Survey research in the United States: Roots and emergence 1890–1960. Transaction Publisher. Costanzo, E. S., Stawski, R. S., Ryff, C. D., Coe, C. L., & Almeida, D. M. (2012). Cancer survivors’ responses to daily stressors: Implications for quality of life. Health Psychology, 31, 360–370. Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design; Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. SAGE Publications Inc. Denscombe, M. (2010). The good research guide for small-scale social research projects (4th ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. De Vaus, D. (2014). Journeys in survey research (6th ed.). Routledge. Didier Marquis, F. N., & Wiles-Portier, E. (2010). Web surveys in the social sciences: An overview. Population (English Edition, 2002), 65(2), 285–311. Dillman, D. A., Phelps, G., Tortora, R., Swift, K., Kohrell, J., Berck, J., & Messer, B. L. (2009). Response rate and measurement differences in mixed-mode surveys using mail, telephone, interactive voice response (IVR) and the internet. Social Science Research, 38(1), 1–18. Farrell, D., & Petersen, J. C. (2010). The growth of Internet research methods and the reluctant sociologist. Sociological Inquiry, 80, 114–125. Hibben, K. C., Jong, J. D., Hu, M., Durow, J., & Guyer, H. (2016). Study design and organizational structure. Guidelines for Best Practice in Cross-Cultural Surveys. Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Retrieved May, 25, 2020, from http://www. ccsg.isr.umich.edu/. Jackson, S. L. (2011). Research methods and statistics: A critical approach (4th ed.). Boston. Kendra, C. (2016). What is a survey? Retrieved from https://www.verywell.com/what-is-a-survey2795787. Kelley, K., Clark, B., Brown, V., & Sitzia, J. (2003). Methodology matters: Good practice in the conduct and reporting of survey research. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 3(3), 261–166. Lavrakas, P. J. (Ed.). (2008). Self-administered questionnaire: In encyclopaedia of survey research methods. Sage.

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Massey, D. S., & Tourangeau, R. (2013). New challenges to social measurement. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 645(1), 6–22. Phillips, P. P., Phillips, J. J., & Aaron, B. (2013). Survey basics: A complete how-to guide. ASTD Press. Ponto, J. (2015). Understanding and evaluating survey research. Journal of Advanced Practitioner in Oncology, 6(2), 168–171. Ponto, J. A., Ellington, L., Mellon, S., & Beck, S. L. (2010). Predictors of adjustment and growth in women with recurrent ovarian cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 37, 357–364. Rubin, A., & Babbie, E. R. (2011). Research methods for social work. Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. Rubin, A., & Babbie, E. R. (2016). Essential research methods for social work. MA Cengage Learning. Singleton, R. A., & Straits, B. C. (2009). Approaches to social research (5th ed.). Oxford University Press. Survey Research Center. (2016). Guidelines for best practice in cross-cultural surveys. Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Retrieved May, 23, 2020, from http://www.ccsg.isr.umich.edu/. Scott, L., Jong, J. D., & Hibben, K. C. (2016). Study management. Guidelines for Best Practice in Cross-Cultural Surveys. Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Retrieved May, 25, 2020, from http://www.ccsg.isr.umich.edu/.

Chapter 13

Survey Questionnaire Shofiqur Rahman Chowdhury, Mohammad Ali Oakkas, and Faisal Ahmmed

Abstract This chapter provides a guideline for a researcher intending to conduct a survey and utilize the questionnaire as an instrument for data collection. Based on the authors’ experience of using the survey questionnaire, it discusses the meaning, characteristics and types of questionnaire, its applicability, strengths and limitations, and the quality of the researcher while using the questionnaire. This chapter aims to provide a better understanding of the appropriate use of a survey questionnaire, its construction and ways to increase the respondents’ spontaneous participation in survey research. Keywords Survey research · Questionnaire · Self-administered questionnaire · Group-administered questionnaire · Web survey · Interview schedule

Introduction The Social Work Department of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh, conducted a study on its alumni to understand their opinion about the program curricula of the department. The aim was to identify gaps between the existing program and the demands of the field of application to redesign the courses accordingly, maintaining the international standards in higher education. Funded by the World Bank, the project is titled ‘Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project’ or (HEQEP). As part of the study program, the alumni were posed with some of the questions below (Box 13.1).

S. R. Chowdhury (B) · M. A. Oakkas · F. Ahmmed Department of Social Work, Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_13

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Box-13.1: Example of a questionnaire designed to evaluate a program Evaluate the following aspects of the program in terms of capacity to provide quality education by marking (Tick mark) in the box of the corresponding column according to the scale given: 5—Strongly agree 4—Agree 3—Neutral 2—Disagree 1—Strongly disagree Area of evaluation

5

4

3

2

1

1. The department informed the students in advance about ✓ the program objectives, outcomes, and methods of evaluation 2. The department ensured a favourable learning environment required for developing students’ creative thinking

✓

3. Impartiality and transparency were maintained at all academic decisions

✓

4. Academic calendar was maintained properly

✓

5. Examination results were published on time following the university ordinance

✓

6. Teachers–students relationship was friendly which contributed to creating a positive learning environment

✓

7. Department had a formal process to collect students’ feedback on academic and non-academic matters

✓

8. Website was informative, and usable for various purposes

✓

● What are the best aspects of your program? Ans. -------------● What aspects of your program could be improved? Ans. --------------------Source University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (2016) The above-mentioned questionnaire is more commonly known as a survey questionnaire. This type of instrument is frequently used in social sciences, health, education and business research for collecting various data about a particular situation or problem, service, organization and product, etc. (Alalwan et al., 2017; Chowdhury & Wahab, 2019; Hoque et al., 2016; Malak, 2013; Reza & Subramaniam, 2019; Roy et al., 2013).

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Meanings and Definitions Obtaining the appropriate data from field studies is paramount in achieving successful survey research. The researcher must gather the opinion of respondents in a trustworthy and accurate manner. This is an extremely complicated task. A well-designed questionnaire is considered an effective tool. Sir Francis Galton, an English Polymath, introduced it in the survey (Kabir, 2016; Roopa & Rani, 2012). The Oxford Dictionary (2017) defines the questionnaire as ‘a set of printed or written questions with a choice of answers, devised for a survey or statistical study’. Kuper and Kuper (1999) refers to a questionnaire as ‘a structured and standardized set of questions, either to one person, to a small population, or (most commonly) to respondents in a sample survey’ (p. 710). Barr, Davis, and Johnson define the questionnaire as ‘a systematic compilation of questions that are submitted to a sampling of the population from which information is desired’ (in Sharma, 2008, p. 254). Engel and Schutt (2009) define a questionnaire as ‘the survey instrument containing the questions in a self-administered survey’. From the aforesaid definitions, it can be concluded that the survey questionnaire consists of a set of questions used in social research where the research approach may be a mixed method or quantitative. It is an instrument of data collection where the researcher considers the survey as an appropriate research method to address the research questions and attain the research objectives. The research objectives may be designed in line with respondents’ preferences, attitudes, ideas, behaviours, and facts. It is structured and standardized, this means that the respondents have the opportunity to choose from multiple options, express their views freely on several issues, and evaluate anything by determining the level. Based on the above explanation, the principal characteristics of a ‘good’ survey questionnaire are summarized below. ● The survey questionnaire is a structured and standardized set of questions ensuring the respondents remain interested and engaged until the very last question. ● Based on the research objectives, the survey questionnaire makes use of closed or open-ended questions. Closed-ended questions help the researcher to compare the different answers and also carry out statistical analysis easily. Open-ended questions allow the respondents to answer freely and descriptively, encouraging the researcher to delve into alternative findings. Each question is designed to focus on a single idea, thus avoiding unclear and ambiguous questions. ● The application of a survey questionnaire depends on the research subject, resources, geography, time, and sociocultural landscape, etc. ● It is most often used as a method of data collection in survey research where the research approach is either quantitative or a mixed method.

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Types of Survey Questionnaire The survey questionnaire is understood in various ways based on its type, nature of the responses, and methods of administering. The types of responses include open- and closed-ended. The method of administering is usually classified as (i) self-administered mailed questionnaire, (ii) group-administered questionnaire, (iii) household drop-off survey questionnaire, (iv) online survey questionnaire, and (v) face-to-face interviews. The descriptions of the type of survey questionnaires are outlined below. (i)

Self-administered mail questionnaire A self-administered mail questionnaire refers to one which is mailed to the respondents for self-completion. The researcher is not present during the process, and the respondents can complete the survey at their convenience, returning it in a prepaid envelope (Bhattacharjee, 2012). The following example may provide a better understanding of the self-administered mail questionnaire: The Directorate of Social Service under the Ministry of Social Welfare, Bangladesh, runs a program titled Hospital Social Service Program in 90 government and nongovernment hospitals. The program offers social, financial, and mental support to poor and helpless patients. It also provides illness-related information to the patients, their family members and the hospital authority, including the physicians, nurses, and the staff. Suppose the Ministry conducted a study to know the attitudes and experiences of the concerned staff while dealing with poor patients seeking service from the program. To gather data from the staff the research team developed a set of questionnaires and sent them to the staff working in 90 hospitals via postal service. The staff filled in the questionnaire themselves and sent it back to the research team.

Another example may be given from the World Bank’s research project that has been mentioned in our introduction. The main goal of the project was to ensure quality education and enable the department to maintain its international accreditation. To meet the objective, the selected department within a university, surveyed the employers of its graduates. The survey aimed to ascertain information, about the quality of the performance of graduates and the applicability of theoretical knowledge in their respective work settings. In preparation for data collection, the research team sent out questionnaires to the employers with a covering letter explaining the aims and objectives of the research. The respondents returned their completed questionnaires in prepaid envelopes or emailed them directly. This process followed the self-administered questionnaire methodology. (ii) Group-administered questionnaire The self-completion process of the questionnaire may also be adopted in group settings. It is commonly known as a group-administered questionnaire. Selected respondents are invited to a particular place where they are asked to complete the survey questionnaire independently without interacting with others. Following this process, the World Bank’s research project that we mentioned earlier ascertained information about the academic environment of

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the department of social work. The research team invited the current students of the department to a particular setting, briefed them on the objectives of the research, and distributed the questionnaire among them. Accordingly, the respondents filled in the questionnaires. To illustrate further, another example of the group-administered survey questionnaire is given below. Sharkari Shisu Parivar is a state-sponsored program of the government of Bangladesh. It provides shelter, education, and rehabilitation service to the orphans. To understand the status and satisfaction of the orphans, a research team brings the selected orphans to a setting or dormitory and asks them to complete the questionnaire that they complete instantly.

(iii) A household drop-off survey questionnaire This is another type of questionnaire where the researcher contacts the respondents to deliver the questionnaire either to their house or workplace (Trochim, 2007). During the delivery process, the researcher describes the aims and objectives of the research, the importance of the respondents’ involvement, as well as clarifying key questions and explaining the processes that are employed to harvest the information from the respondent. The collection process can be carried out using one of two methods. One is to request the respondent to send back the questionnaire through a postal or courier service. The other is by arranging a collection point that is mutually suited to both the respondent and the researcher. Using these methods of administration allows the researcher to establish a relationship with the respondent as well as provide clarification about the research objectives and shed light on any ambiguity surrounding the questionnaire. Trochim (2007) views that the application of the household survey questionnaire increases the respondents’ willingness to participate in the research process. (iv) Online or web survey In an online survey, the respondents receive electronic mail from the researcher. Here the researcher requests the respondents to participate in a research process by using an interactive form. Ritter and Sue (2007) describe how an online survey questionnaire can be designed. For this, user login with a password and instructions on completing the questionnaire needs to be provided. Questions should be presented simply, logically, and finally would include a thank you message acknowledging the respondents’ contribution in attaining the goal of the research. However, the researcher needs careful attention before using the online survey questionnaire. She/he should be cautious about the objectives of the survey and the types of respondents. She/he should decide whether the feedback for the survey, should be from the public or people with expertise within the research topic. The researcher also needs to consider the nature of the questions including multiple-choice, open- or close-ended questions, etc. and also justify the use of the questions. Data collection through this process seems to be easier, less expensive as well as time-saving. However, it has some limitations. The respondents, such as the poor, illiterate, elderly and people with no access to

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a computer and internet, are automatically excluded from the research. Even people with access to a computer and internet may not be able to respond due to technical difficulties. (v) Interview schedule In social research, data are often collected through face-to-face interviews. When the researcher adopts either a quantitative or a mixed-method approach and a social survey as their chosen research methodology, the researcher can collect the data through face-to-face interviews using questionnaires. Here the survey questionnaire is called an interview schedule. For example, one of our authors made use of this type of questionnaire for his PhD study, titled Socio-economic status of fishermen in Hakaluki Hoar, Bangladesh. The main objective of the study was to explore and analyse the present socio-economic conditions of fishermen in Hakaluki Haor (a marshy wetland ecosystem area) of Bangladesh. The study comprised of data from 287 samples, from people living in the Haor area of Moulvibazar and the Sylhet Districts of Bangladesh. Another example can be given from the study of Ullah (2007), who did his PhD on ‘Rationalizing migration: Bangladeshi migrant workers in Hong Kong and Malaysia’. It examined how the Bangladeshi migrant workers in Hong Kong (HKRs) and Malaysia (MRs), go about their decisions to migrate and how they rationalize this, by looking at the two perspectives of the migration process. The study used a survey questionnaire to collect data from the Bangladeshi migrant workers working in Malaysia and Hong Kong. The researcher often becomes confused between the interview schedule or guide and the questionnaire. Scholars, in this case, describe the differences between the interview schedule and the questionnaire by highlighting their different usages. Few suggest, the questionnaire should be constructed using short and closed-ended questions, while the interview schedule will contain broad and open-ended questions. But making a distinction between the two tools is often complicated. Both closed and open questions are frequently used in questionnaires and the interview schedule. The only difference is, the questionnaire is self-administered and the interview schedule is completed by the researcher face-to-face. Making use of the interview schedule as a method of data collection enables the researcher to build a trustworthy relationship and interpret the respondents’ answers more robustly.

Types of Questions Used in a Survey Questionnaire From the previous discussion, it is obvious that the survey questionnaire is a set of questions. The size of the questionnaire depends on the objectives of the study, the resource, the capacity of the researcher, and the time constraints. For example, a PhD study requires an in-depth understanding of the knowledge gap and the researcher’s intentions of addressing this. Diverse issues are considered in answering the research questions. Here, the size of the survey questionnaire may be large. On the other hand,

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the sampling size may be small when there is funding limitation, time constraints and the objectives are very specific such as getting feedback on products or services provided by an institution. There are a variety of questions that can be used, the authors such as Neuman (2011), Grinnell and Unrau (2008), and Trochim (2007) mention the different types. These are open- and closed-ended questions, multiplechoice, dichotomous, nominal, ordinal, and interval questions. Likert response scale and contingency questions can also be used. However, based on the nature of questions we can mention two types: open-ended and closed-ended. Other types of questions are included in the closed-ended category due to the answers being limited and fixed by the researcher. Here we present a survey questionnaire to show some of the types of questions (Box 13.2). Box-13.2: Examples of the types of questions used in the survey questionnaire Community Empowerment Initiative of Faith−based NGOs: A Case Study on Islamic Relief Worldwide in Bangladesh Survey Questionnaire The main objective of my research is to examine the impacts of the faithbased NGOs’ interventions towards community empowerment. Since you are a registered group member of Islamic Relief, I will be grateful if you share your opinions regarding this topic. Please note that the information given by you will be used only for academic purposes, and I will not disclose your opinions and I will strictly maintain the confidentiality of your information. You have every right to withdraw yourself from the interview at any time. After finishing the interview, I will let you know what I have written from you, and you will have the opportunity to add or delete anything that you will give. Your cooperation would be highly appreciated. Group Name: Date and Time: Mobile No (If any): Questionnaire No: 1. Personal and Family Data

Relationship with the respondent

Gender*

Religion*

Marital status*

Age

Education*

Primary occupation*

Income Secondary status* occupation*

House structure *

House ownership*

1 (Respondent) 2 (continued)

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(continued) Relationship with the respondent

Gender*

Religion*

Marital status*

Age

Education*

Primary occupation*

Income Secondary status* occupation*

House structure *

House ownership*

3 4 5 6 7 Types of family: single

Total

Joint

Extended

*Code: ▢Gender: Male-1, Female-2, Third gender-3. Religion: Hindu-1, Muslim-2. Income status: Earner-1, Dependent-2, Unemployed-3 ▢ Education: Illiterate-1, Can sign only-2, Can read and sign-3, Grade (1–5)-4, Grade (6–8)-5, Grade-9-SSC-6, HSC-7, Graduate-8, Postgraduate-9, Other (Please specify)-10 ▢ Marital status: Unmarried-1, Married-2, Divorced-3, Widowed-4, Separated-5 ▢ Primary and secondary profession: Agriculture-1, Three-wheeler driver-2, Van puller-3, Rikshaw puller-4, Garment’s worker-5, Daily labor-6, Security guard-7, Small vendor-8, Agriculture labour-9, Business-10, Housewife-11 Other (Please specify)-14 ▢ House structure: Corrugated tin-1, Mud-2, Bamboo-3, Bricked house-4, Semi bricked house-5, ▢ House ownership: Owned-1, Rented-2, Living free with neighbours/relatives-3, Mortgaged-4

2. Which organization do you have membership in apart from Islamic Relief? Other NGO ▢

Political party ▢

Govt. cooperative society ▢

Unregistered cooperative society ▢

School management committee ▢

Local club ▢

No membership ▢

3. Training and services received from Islamic Relief and other sources Islamic Relief

Other sources

Training

Services/aid

Source

▢Tailoring

▢Qurbani meat

▢Small business

▢Tree for plantation

Government social safety ▢Old age allowance net program ▢Widow/abandoned allowance

▢Cow rearing

▢Health services

▢Goat rearing

▢Other (please specify)

▢Cattle fattening ▢Group leading

Services

▢Disability allowance ▢VGD ▢ VGF ▢Other (please specify) NGO

▢Loan ▢ Training

▢Financial management

▢Health service

▢Other (please specify)

▢Other (please specify)

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4. Asset of the respondent and her family Type of land

Yes Quantity

No Value

Furniture and accessories

Yes

Chair

Quantity

Value

No

Yes (own)

Non-cultivated land

Table

Cultivated land (own)

Bench

Homestead

Khat

Cultivated land (mortgaged)

Cloth rack

Cultivated land (rental)

Showcase

Sharecropping

Dressing table

Total Value

Sewing machine

Type of livestock

Yes Quantity

No Value

No

Bicycle Auto van

Cow (own)

TV

Cow (shared)

Mobile

Goat/sheep/pig

Electricity

Domestic birds

Other (please specify)

Total Value

Total Value

Yes (shared)

5. Respondent’s income and expenditures Sources of income (last one year)

Monthly expenditures

Loan and savings

Sources

Area

Source

Crop production

Amount in BDT

Food

Amount in BDT

Amount in BDT

Mortgage

Animal rearing

Treatment

Bank

Salary/wage

Education

NGO

Small business

Agriculture

IR

Rent

Instalment

Mohajon

Relief and charity

Electricity

Relatives

Government social safety net program

Mobile

Other (please specify) (continued)

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(continued) 5. Respondent’s income and expenditures Sources of income (last one year) Sources

Amount in BDT

Other (please specify)

Monthly expenditures

Loan and savings

Area

Source

Amount in BDT

Clothes

Total

Festival

Savings

Other (please specify)

Amount in BDT

IR Other (please specify)

6. Respondents’ opinion on Islamic Relief (IR) program impacts on community empowerment domains Disagree (2)

Undecided (3)

Agree (4)

Entirely agree (5)

1. I have come to 1 know many things from IR’s income-generating training program which was previously unknown to me

2

3

4

5

2. I have been able to increase my income through training and financial grant/loan provided by IR

1

2

3

4

5

3. My savings have been increased due to the membership of IR

1

2

3

4

5

1 4. I observe that other group members of IR have increased their income through training and financial grant/loans provided by IR

2

3

4

5

Domains of community empowerment

Entirely disagree (1)

Improves resource mobilization

(continued)

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(continued) 6. Respondents’ opinion on Islamic Relief (IR) program impacts on community empowerment domains Domains of community empowerment

Entirely disagree (1)

Disagree (2)

Undecided (3)

Agree (4)

Entirely agree (5)

5. I believe that there is an opportunity to increase the income of our group members through joint investment

1

2

3

4

5

6. I am well informed about the business initiatives of our Apex body

1

2

3

4

5

7. I actively 1 participate in the activities and events arranged by IR

2

3

4

5

8. I share my 1 participation experience as IR’ group member with my family members

2

3

4

5

9. I share my participation experience as IR’ group member with my neighbours

1

2

3

4

5

10. I believe that 1 joining as a member of the IR group has increased my participation in the decision-making process of my family more than in the past

2

3

4

5

11. Now I think that 1 I can participate in the events arranged by my relatives more than in the past

2

3

4

5

Improves participation

(continued)

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(continued) 6. Respondents’ opinion on Islamic Relief (IR) program impacts on community empowerment domains Domains of community empowerment

Entirely disagree (1)

Disagree (2)

Undecided (3)

Agree (4)

Entirely agree (5)

12. If invited, I can participate in the events arranged by the community people

1

2

3

4

5

Develops local leadership 13. My skills and confidence have increased through training and awareness meetings arranged by Islamic Relief

1

2

3

4

5

14. Now I am well capable to lead myself in any activity

1

2

3

4

5

15. Now I have full freedom for my movement

1

2

3

4

5

16. I have full control over my freedom and decision

1

2

3

4

5

17. Now I have active participation in my family decision-making process

1

2

3

4

5

18. I think that I 1 have well acceptance regarding my family decision-making process

2

3

4

5

19. I actively participate in our group decision-making process

2

3

4

5

1

(continued)

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(continued) 6. Respondents’ opinion on Islamic Relief (IR) program impacts on community empowerment domains Domains of community empowerment

Entirely disagree (1)

Disagree (2)

Undecided (3)

Agree (4)

Entirely agree (5)

20. Now I can engage other community leaders for our group and community purpose

1

2

3

4

5

21. Through Islamic 1 Relief, I think that an opportunity has been created for our group and Apex body leaders to lead in the community

2

3

4

5

22. I think that our group and apex body leaders have now been well accepted in various community issues

2

3

4

5

1

Builds empowering organizational structures 23. I think that IR 1 activity is organized and managed by the local people

2

3

4

5

24. I think that the 1 leader selection process of our group and Apex body is appropriate

2

3

4

5

25. I have an equal opportunity to become the leader of our group and Apex body

1

2

3

4

5

26. Islamic Relief staff have taught us practically how to operate the group

1

2

3

4

5

27. Islamic Relief staff have taught us well how to resolve conflict within the group

1

2

3

4

5

(continued)

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(continued) 6. Respondents’ opinion on Islamic Relief (IR) program impacts on community empowerment domains Domains of community empowerment

Entirely disagree (1)

Disagree (2)

Undecided (3)

Agree (4)

Entirely agree (5)

28. Now we can resolve conflict without taking help from IR staff

1

2

3

4

5

29. I think that our 1 group has strengthened social relationships among us

2

3

4

5

30. I believe that I will get assistance from my group in case of an urgent need

1

2

3

4

5

31. I think my social 1 contact/identity has increased due to my involvement with IR

2

3

4

5

Increases control over program management 32. I think IR has no 1 control or influence regarding our group decision and activity

2

3

4

5

33. I think our group members have learned well how to operate a group and deal with financial issues

1

2

3

4

5

34. We can change 1 our program to meet our immediate needs

2

3

4

5

35. I believe that we 1 are now capable to operate the group without taking any assistance from IR staff

2

3

4

5

(continued)

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(continued) 6. Respondents’ opinion on Islamic Relief (IR) program impacts on community empowerment domains Domains of community empowerment

Entirely disagree (1)

Disagree (2)

Undecided (3)

Agree (4)

Entirely agree (5)

36. I am satisfied with our group activity

1

2

3

4

5

Increases problem assessment capacities 37. Due to my involvement with IR, I think that I have learned well about the actions to increase my family income

1

2

3

4

5

38. Due to my involvement with IR, I think that I have learned well about the actions to protect my family health

1

2

3

4

5

39. Due to my involvement with IR, I think that I have learned well about child rights

1

2

3

4

5

40. Due to my involvement with IR, I think that I have learned well about women rights

1

2

3

4

5

41. Due to my involvement with IR, I think that I have learned well about the earthquake and environmental protection

1

2

3

4

5

42. Now I 1 understand well how to solve various problems

2

3

4

5

(continued)

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(continued) 6. Respondents’ opinion on Islamic Relief (IR) program impacts on community empowerment domains Domains of community empowerment

Entirely disagree (1)

Disagree (2)

Undecided (3)

Agree (4)

Entirely agree (5)

Enhances the ability to ‘ask why’ 43. I think that Islamic Relief makes me aware of the causes of the problem

1

2

3

4

5

44. Now I can contextualize various social problems locally

1

2

3

4

5

45. I can understand 1 well about the action to be taken to solve various problems

2

3

4

5

46. I sometimes participate in local events to solve various problems

2

3

4

5

1

Strengthens links with other organizations and people 1

2

3

4

5

48. I observe that 1 Islamic Relief has helped me a link with other local organizations and people (such as bank, market, association, health officer, department of animal husbandry and so on)

2

3

4

5

47. Islamic Relief provides us information to get resources and services from various organizations and individuals

(continued)

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(continued) 6. Respondents’ opinion on Islamic Relief (IR) program impacts on community empowerment domains Domains of community empowerment

Entirely disagree (1)

Disagree (2)

Undecided (3)

Agree (4)

Entirely agree (5)

49. I observe that relationships between our Apex body and various organizations have been established through IR

1

2

3

4

5

50. Our Apex body if arranging any meeting always invites local people and organizations

1

2

3

4

5

51. I observe that IR 1 always invites local people and organizations while arranging any events in our community

2

3

4

5

Creates an equitable relationships with outside agents 52. I think IR workers are always sympathetic towards us

1

2

3

4

5

53. Islamic Relief 1 has facilitated us to gain resources through establishing links with other organizations and people inside the community

2

3

4

5

54. Islamic Relief 1 has facilitated us to gain resources through establishing links with other organizations and people inside the community

2

3

4

5

(continued)

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(continued) 6. Respondents’ opinion on Islamic Relief (IR) program impacts on community empowerment domains Domains of community empowerment

Entirely disagree (1)

Disagree (2)

Undecided (3)

Agree (4)

Entirely agree (5)

55. I feel that Islamic Relief has empowered us in operating the group and monitoring and evaluating our program

1

2

3

4

5

56. I feel that 1 Islamic Relief does not impose anything regarding our group activities and decisions

2

3

4

5

7. Could You Please Mention the Positive Sides of Islamic Relief? (a) …………………………………………………… (b) …………………………………………………….. (c) …………………………………………………. 8. Could You Please Mention Some Major Limitations of Islamic Relief? (a) …………………………………………………… (b) …………………………………………………….. (c) …………………………………………………. 9. What Are Your Valuable Suggestions to Overcome These Limitations? (a) …………………………………………………… (b) …………………………………………………….. (c) …………………………………………………. Thank you for your cooperation. Source First author’s PhD study. Using this questionnaire, the first author collected data from the service users of Islamic Relief Worldwide, a faith-based international NGO offering livelihood and community development programmes in the north–western region of Bangladesh. The main study objective was to explore the nature of faith-based NGO’s contribution to community empowerment. We can understand the nature of the questions identified from this questionnaire which is summarized as follows.

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Open-Ended Questions Open-ended questions are exploratory. These questions are asked in which there is no specific option for responses. The researcher uses this type of question when he/she intends to know the respondents’ views on a particular issue without giving any option. It encourages the respondents to reveal the thinking process of the respondent in complex issues, clarify the responses, and give unlimited possible answers. These answers may be unanticipated by the researcher at the beginning of the study. In the example of the questionnaire (Box 13.2) questions 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9 are open-ended. In these questions, the service users of Islamic Relief had the opportunity to share their views freely.

Closed-Ended Questions Closed-ended questions refer to the types of questions in which the respondent must choose from a fixed set of answers (Neuman, 2011). It allows the researcher to avoid irrelevant and too general and confusing answers. It also allows the researcher to do the statistical analysis considering the frame of reference. Here the question 2 is a closed-ended question where the respondent has no option. Questions 6 includes interval questions or Likert scale responses which may also be included in closedended questions type due to the limit of the answer. The common practice in this type of question is to use a 1–5 rating for selecting a response from 5 alternatives. However, using this questionnaire has some limitations as it confined the respondents from answering their views independently.

Guidelines to Prepare a Survey Questionnaire Developing a questionnaire is a thoughtful assignment for a researcher. The quality of data mostly depends upon the standard of a questionnaire. Following guidelines may be helpful for a researcher to construct a good survey questionnaire. ● Review ‘what we want to know as well as the goal and objectives of the research’. ● Decide the ways of administering the questionnaire and make a clear decision about the following questions: (I) Will the informants fill it out on their own and send it back? (II) Will it be filled out while the researcher is with them? (III) Will the researcher asks the questions and write down the answer? Based on the answer to each question language construction of questions should be different. ● Make sure that at the beginning of the questionnaire there is an introduction about the objective of the study. This will also include a welcoming message and

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assurances to maintain confidentiality. At the end of the questionnaire, the contribution of the respondents should be acknowledged. A simple sentence thanking the participant for their sincere cooperation may be used here. Make a list of major items the researcher intends to ask questions about. For example, Ullah (2007) in his PhD study prepared a survey questionnaire focusing on some items. These are ideographic information, skills/experiences, income, contacts, place of living, work-related information, motivation, rationalities, problems, plans, etc. Decide the types of questions to include, whether they should be open- or closedended questions. The nature of the questions should be consistent with the primary research objectives and the research questions. Make sure that each question is single. More than one issue within one question must be avoided, and each question should be related to a theme of the research. Review the questions to ensure that each question is clear, concise, and easily understandable. Follow the ‘principle of avoidance’ while constructing the questionnaire. Neuman (2011) focuses on ten things that need to be avoided while preparing a survey questionnaire. These are: Avoid jargon and abbreviations. Avoid confusion and vagueness. Avoid emotional language and prestige bias. Avoid double-barrelled questions. Avoid leading questions. Avoid asking questions that are beyond the respondent’s capabilities. Avoid false premises. Avoid asking about distant future intentions. Avoid double negatives and Avoid overlapping or unbalanced response categories. Number each question separately and maintain its order in a way that it can be easy for the researcher to analyse and tabulate. Try out the questionnaire by pre-testing it on an informant. Evaluate the results obtained from the pre-test. For example, was each question easy to understand? Were the research objectives met by the responses to the questions? Remove or add questions as needed. Keep an adequate place so that the respondents can answer questions comfortably on the questionnaire. Think about how the questionnaires will be collected from the respondents. Using the postal service will ensure the researcher can cover many respondents but may have less control over how many responses they get back. Delivery and pick-up by hand may take a long time and requires greater effort, as well as finance, but the possibility of obtaining more responses than from postal surveys is greater. Follow-up phone calls may increase the number of responses.

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Review of the research objectives Listing all questions raised in mind Categorise the questions based on major themes Avoid the repetitive and unnecessary questions Draft the questionnaire Pretest the questionnaire Add or remove the questions

Finalization of questionnaire Fig. 13.1 Sequence of action in preparing a questionnaire. Source Developed by authors

The researcher may follow the following sequence of actions in preparing a questionnaire (Fig. 13.1).

Qualities of a Researcher to Use Survey Questionnaire A researcher is expected to have the following qualities while using a survey questionnaire.

Ability to Build a Trustworthy Relationship The collection of quality data depends on the spontaneous participation of the respondents. The respondents will be interested only when they consider the study is significant and the researcher is a more trustworthy person. Before the final use of a survey questionnaire, a good researcher tries to establish a relationship either by making face-to-face contact or by sending a letter of request explaining the objective of his/her research. He tries to convince the respondents that giving their time to answer

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the questions is not only harmless but a contribution to the field of knowledge or for the promotion of a service. Getting a quick response can only be possible if the researcher can establish a rapport with the respondents.

Having Patience Collecting data is not an easy task. The respondents may not consider it significant. They may not have time to complete the questionnaire and send it back on time. Sometimes the respondents show a willingness to complete the questionnaire during face-to-face interviews or in a group setting but often become unable to maintain the appointment time. This makes the researcher frustrated as she/he is also a human being. But the researcher must always maintain a level of patience to achieve the research objectives. For example, questionnaires can be used as a data collection method for PhD studies or a project sponsored by a reputed national or international organization. It may also be carried out to promote the quality of the services of a company where the researcher himself is an employee. These help to incentivize the researcher’s professional and personal achievement. Therefore, having patience is a good trait to possess.

Knowing the Appropriate Use of a Survey Questionnaire A good researcher is a person who is well informed about the objectives of their research, has a clear understanding of each question and the justification of using the survey questionnaire as an instrument of data collection. For example, Malak (2013) considered a survey questionnaire as appropriate for his study as entitled ‘Inclusive education in Bangladesh: Are pre-service teachers ready to accept students with a special education need in regular classes’. The study examined the pre-service special education (PSpE) teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education (IE) for students with special educational needs (SEN) in Bangladesh. Here using a survey questionnaire was more justified because one of the objectives was to explore any significant difference in the attitude of the pre-service special education teachers based on their demographic characteristics such as gender, close contact, area of specialization, and practice.

Knowing Human Behaviour This is very important as the respondents may be heterogeneous. Their life experience, priorities, expectations may be different. The researcher needs extra caution so that the respondents feel comfortable and willing to participate in the research

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process spontaneously. For this, the researcher must understand human behaviour. Understanding human behaviour will help to guide them on whether the respondents should be asked direct or indirect questions. It also helps to promote a congenial atmosphere for the data collection process.

Maintaining Objectivity The researcher should keep in mind that she/he is not going to prove something that she/he considers appropriate. Rather, the intention is to explore something which may be unknown or partially known to many readers. For this, she/he should not be guided by his/her ideology, experience and prejudice. Being a member of society, it is quite natural to be influenced by the surrounding environment. But a good researcher always accepts findings that may be unanticipated. She/he should not ask questions that are leading so that the respondents are guided or forced to give an ‘expected’ answer.

Advantages and Limitations of Using Survey Questionnaire The survey questionnaire is an instrument for data collection that is frequently being used in survey research. However, using this type of questionnaire has some advantages and limitations. For example, a self-administered postal survey questionnaire is inexpensive to administer. Though the researcher has to spend money on sending out the questionnaire to the respondents, she/he can save money as she/he does not need to visit the respondent physically. Regarding travel, it saves both time and money. Another advantage is that data can be collected from many respondents within a short duration. It also provides an opportunity for respondents to give anonymous answers on their own choices. It can ensure greater access to educated respondents and hard to obtain data. However, there are some limitations. For example, the response rates from postal surveys tend to be quite low. Many people tend to ignore survey requests. Some respondents are afraid of giving a written opinion fearing personal loss and harassment. Even the interested respondents can experience unexpected delays in completing and returning the questionnaire due to other engagements (or they may simply lose it). In such cases, the researcher should monitor the responses, send reminders to non-respondents repeatedly which may be embarrassing to both the researcher and the respondents. Furthermore, a self-administered questionnaire is not always suitable for capturing issues that require clarification or detailed written responses. The main advantage of using a group-administered survey questionnaire is to obtain a high response rate. It also allows respondents to ask clarification about the questions from the researcher. The researcher easily obtains the required data from a specific setting which is both time-saving and cost-effective. However, getting

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respondents in one setting may be very difficult. For example, we used a groupadministered survey questionnaire to obtain feedback from our current students, and this was found to be very useful. This was arranged in our department, and all of the sample students were present there. However, we found it extremely difficult when we arranged the sampling of our alumni students living in different areas. We requested for them to personally attend, at a given location and they gladly accepted. However, many of them later were unable to attend due to sudden engagements. We later had to send out the questionnaires to them by mail. The respondents who did attend tended to complete the questionnaire after consulting the other respondents. This indicates that obtaining in-depth information sometimes may not be possible using a group-administered questionnaire.

Conclusions This chapter discusses the survey questionnaire as an instrument for the collection of data within the social science arena. It describes the survey questionnaire as a structured and standardized set of questions, highlighting some of its characteristics. It also explains the different types of survey questionnaires taking some examples from Bangladesh to introduce the novice researcher to the applicability of the survey questionnaire. Using a survey questionnaire can cover many respondents at a cheaper cost than the other instruments used in research. But we found that the size of the survey questionnaire depends on the resources, capacity, time constraints, and objectives of the study. We also observed some of the problems that may arise during the construction and implementation stages of a survey questionnaire. Therefore, some important issues such as preparing the list of major items to be asked, avoiding overlapping and confusing questions through pretesting, determining the process of filling up the questionnaire, maintaining data collectors’ commitment and probity should be considered for the successful construction and use of survey questionnaires. In conclusion, the development of data collection instruments is a thoughtful and demanding task for any researcher. The success of getting access to appropriate data heavily depends upon the quality of a questionnaire. The preparation of a survey questionnaire is more often an art than a science. It takes skill, patience, practice, and creativity. The researcher should keep in his /her mind that the goal is to get the real facts and add something to the field of knowledge. Therefore, in addition to being confined in structured thinking, she/he should be innovative and sensitive for developing a data collection instrument particularly the questionnaire following the set of rules, sequence, and guidelines. Moreover, a clear understanding of the research problem and methodology is equally important.

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References Alalwan, A. A., Dwivedi, Y. K., & Rana, N. P. (2017). Factors influencing adoption of mobile banking by Jordanian bank customers: Extending UTAUT2 with trust. International Journal of Information Management, 37(3), 99–110. Bhattacharjee. (2012). Principles, Methods, and Practices. Social Science Research. Retrieved from https://gibsoncollege.edu.et/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/social-research-book.pdf Chowdhury, S. R., & Wahab, H. A. (2019). Community empowerment initiatives of faith-based NGOs: A case study in Bangladesh. In M. R. Islam (Ed.), Social research methodology and new techniques in analysis, interpretation, and writing (pp. 75–105). IGI Global. Engel, R. J., & Schutt, R. K. (2009). Fundamentals of social work research. Sage Publications. Grinnell, R. M., Jr., & Unrau, Y. A. (2008). Social work research and evaluation: Foundations of evidence-based practice. Oxford University Press. Hoque, M. R., Albar, A., & Alam, J. (2016). Factors influencing physicians’ acceptance of e-health in developing country: An empirical study. International Journal of Healthcare Information Systems and Informatics (IJHISI), 11(1), 58–70. Kabir, S. M. S. (2016). Basic guidelines for research: An introductory approach for all disciplines. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325846733_INTRODUCTION_TO_ RESEARCH Kuper, A., & Kuper, J. (Ed.). (1999). The social science encyclopaedia. Routledge. Malak, M. S. (2013). Inclusive education in Bangladesh: Are pre-service teachers ready to accept students with special educational needs in regular classes? Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development, 24(1), 56–81. Neuman, L. W. (2011). Social research methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches (7th ed.) Pearson Education. Inc. Oxford English Dictionary. (2017). Questionnaire. Retrieved from https://en.oxforddictionaries. com/definition/questionnaire. Reza, M. M., & Subramaniam, T. (2019). Economic and social wellbeing of the Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia. In M. R. Islam (Ed.), Social research methodology and new techniques in analysis, interpretation, and writing (pp. 106–134). IGI Global. Ritter, L. A., & Sue, V. M. (2007). The survey questionnaire. New Directions for Evaluation, 115, 37–45. Roopa, S., & Rani, M. S. (2012). Questionnaire designing for a survey. Journal of Indian Orthodontic Society, 46(4_suppl1), 273–277. Roy, T., Anderson, C., Evans, C., Rahman, M. S., & Rahman, M. (2013). Cross-cultural adaptation of the short-form condom attitude scale: Validity assessment in a sub-sample of rural-to-urban migrant workers in Bangladesh. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 240. Sharma, R. K. (2008). Sociological methods and techniques. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. Trochim, W. M. (2007). Research methods. Biztantra. Ullah, A. A. (2007). Rationalizing migration: Bangladeshi migrant workers in Hong Kong and Malaysia. Doctoral dissertation, City University of Hong Kong. University Grants Commission of Bangladesh. (2016). Self-assessment manual. Retrieved from http://iqac.daffodilvarsity.edu.bd/images/pdf/Self-Assessment-Manual_2nd-ed_2016.pdf

Chapter 14

Interview Method Hazreena Hussein

Abstract The rationale of research interviews is to gain people’s knowledge, views, and experiences, which are meaningful in understanding social realities. Although some research interviews are time-consuming, researchers can interact and communicate while developing a rapport with people to find out these facts—something observations or surveys can never do. How a response from an interview is made (tone of voice, facial expression, hesitation) can feed information that a written response would conceal. Having a good audio quality recorder would be of great assistance. However, if the respondent refuses to be recorded, researchers should practise note-taking. Researchers need to be careful of what and how to ask, as some information may be controversial and confidential. Interviews are a highly subjective method, and the danger of bias always exists. Keywords Interview · Researcher · Respondent · Semi-structured · Structured · Unstructured

Introduction This chapter is about the procedure and understanding of conducting research interviews. It is written in a jargon-free style and illustrated with examples, lists, diagrams, tables, tips, and relevant quotations from researchers. The author has organized this chapter according to the following sections: . . . . . .

What is a research interview? What kind of information can be acquired through a research interview? How can the researcher ask sensitive questions? What are the skills required when conducting interviews? What are the types of research interviews? Why and when to use the interview method?

H. Hussein (B) Centre For Sustainable Urban Planning & Real Estate, Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_14

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. How to approach semi-structured and unstructured interviews? . How can the researcher know that the opinions expressed are fair and valid? This chapter ends with a key conclusion and a list of references used in the text.

Definition and Meaning What is a research interview? According to Mason (1996: 38), a research interview is defined as an ‘in-depth, semi-structured or loosely structured form of interviewing or conversation with a purpose’. In other words, a research interview involves a set of questions asked by an interviewer (the researcher). It is usually held with one other person (the respondent) who knows something about the topic of interest. Sometimes there is more than one respondent present, and group interviews are often used in market research and situations where the interviewer thinks persons will be more forthcoming as a group. Research interviews may be tightly structured (formal), where the researcher only reads from a detail of prepared queries and ticks the boxes of a checklist that most closely correspond to the respondent’s answers. Structured interviews are useful for collecting quantitative data since the responses can be compared to another, counted, and statistically analysed. Alternatively, research interviews may be entirely unstructured (informal), openended, and in the form of a discussion. Various researchers also described research interviews as naturalistic, autobiographical, in-depth, narrative, or non-directive. The researcher may ask only an occasional question, often facilitating, preferring the respondent talking at length. Unstructured interviews are not comparable with one another and are, therefore, not statistically reliable. However, informal interviews enable the researcher to collect data far less contaminated by the interviewer’s assumptions. The respondents can put their thoughts across in their way and can choose how to tell them. In that way, unstructured interviews are considered to have a high degree of validity. Whether structured or unstructured interviews, both are designed to elicit information about a topic of interest, and it does this by asking questions of an expert.

Obtaining Data What kind of information can be acquired through a research interview? The answer to this is virtually anything! Some sensitive issues include the respondent’s age, educational level, race, marital status, social class, and monthly/yearly income. Some matters are threatening, such as criminal behaviour or admissions of immoral where respondents may exaggerate or diminish their responses. Some

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issues are neither sensitive nor threatening but may be significant to the respondent to put a lot of energy into the answers. Some issues may be of less interest to the respondent than they are to the researcher, and the researcher may have to work very hard to get an acceptable response at all. One major issue about any research, including interviews, has to be the validity of the information collected. Tip: Alternatively, the researcher could use prompt cards for sensitive questions and ask the respondent to point to the answer.

Sensitive Questions How can the researcher ask? About age: ask for the birth year, the year when the respondents left school or their expected retirement year. About the race: inquire the respondents to choose from various selections, or the researcher can make a self-assessment. About income: ask the respondents if they could meet the expense of a property or an automobile or whether they would consider their earning as high, average, or low.

Qualities of Good Interviewers What are the skills required when conducting interviews? . . . . .

Able to develop a rapport; Ability to listen to people; Able to achieve a balance between listening and talking; Able to remember what people have said and what you have asked; Able to observe body language, picking up non-verbal cues; The interviewer needs to be careful of:

. . . .

What to ask—are you asking what you think you are asking? How to ask—inflection, inference, guiding; What you ‘let’ them tell you; Whether and how confidentiality and anonymity are guaranteed.

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Characteristics of Research Interview What are the types of research interviews? (i)

Structured This kind of interview establishes a structured questionnaire and coded answers. The discussion is guided and controlled by the researcher that makes for more straightforward analysis. The sample size needs to be large enough to produce reliable statistics. (ii) Semi-structured This type of interview employs a questionnaire format. Still, respondents are encouraged to elaborate on their answers, and researchers ask questions to probe deeper into the various aspects of the topic. The sample size depends on whether the interview includes some questions designed for statistical purposes. The researcher controls the conversation, although the respondent has more control over the answers and can direct the talk areas he or she feels are important. One of the examples of a semi-structured interview is a face-to-face approach. It involves direct contact between the researcher and the respondent, such as ‘in the street’ as in market researchers. This approach has the potential for a better response rate than other survey techniques. It allows a careful selection of respondents necessary to fill ‘quotas’, for example, the number of males and females, different age groups, etc. This limits the collection of redundant material; therefore, it is an efficient approach. This approach also retains the personal element of face-to-face interviewing and the possibility to persuade the respondent to answer questions. Compared to a telephone interview, this technique was viewed as unreliable due to the dangers of a biased sample where the respondent in this way was not necessarily representative of the wider population. In addition, it is more difficult to develop rapport and build trust over the telephone. However, telephone interviewing is cheaper, quicker, and practical than the face-to-face approach for generating a random sample of the population. Despite the reduction of non-response due to noncontact, telephone interviewing has higher levels of non-response overall. It is easy to say NO on the phone! (iii) Unstructured This type of interview applies very few pre-arranged questions where the researcher has a list of covered topics. The respondent has a good deal of control over answers, the extent and quality of responses, and the conversation’s direction. These may produce a wealth of valuable data, but they require a great deal of expertise to control and a lot of time to analyse. The walk-through interview is an example that involves an unstructured interview procedure (Zimring, 1987). It uses the physical environment as a prompt to help respondents articulate their reactions to the setting (Zeisel, 1981). To fully benefit from the walk-through interview, the researcher should gather up points regarding the environmental qualities to a more detailed specification. This will allow the researcher to use the respondent’s definition of

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the setting to define important features. For example, in a study by Hussein (2009) on the design and use of sensory gardens, she started with data collection with an interview with the landscape architect, and this was conducted over two sessions. The first interview was undertaken at a place of the landscape architect’s choosing, and the second interview involved a walk-through of the sensory garden. The first interview was a necessary part of understanding the design process and the intentions of the landscape architect and finding out the challenges he or she had to deal with. The second interview was to assess whether users utilized areas and garden features in the way that they intended to do by the designer. Thus, the walk-through will assist the researcher in getting further explanation (Zeisel, 1981).

Contrasting Examples of Using Interviews Why and when to use the interview method? Hussein’s (2009) doctoral research investigated the design and use of sensory gardens by assessing their spaces and how they are used, particularly by students with special needs and school staff. Hussein (2012a) added that due to insufficient resources in the area of ‘sensory garden’ and the time limitations for research, she thought the interview method to be the most appropriate. She carried out interviews with expert and design professionals as well as walk-through interviews with school staff. Both of these interviews have different objectives. The consultation with the expert is to refine the research direction. According to Hussein (2012b), the interviews with school staff investigate their experience and advantages in having the sensory garden and evaluating the garden features. She interviewed landscape architects to explore the design objectives and allow subsequent assessment of whether users utilize spaces and garden features in the way they are meant to (Hussein & Daud, 2015). There was often a stark difference between what the landscape architects and school staff thought would be popular and what worked well in reality. These interview outcomes are a significant argument in the research. Buckeldee (1994) researched as part of an MSc course in nursing, focusing on district nurses’ work with carers in the community. She was herself a practising district nurse. Her study examined carers’ views of the problems they faced, and the help which they received or would like to receive. She employed interviews to explore these issues. Most of those approached were willing to be interviewed and trusted her because of her position and their prior experience of her work. She implemented an unstructured interview approach and found few difficulties getting her respondents to talk, though keeping the conversation focused was a problem. Indeed, many respondents found the process therapeutic. All interviews were taperecorded. Ending the interview, and the process of leaving the respondents’ homes, was another challenging process.

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Before the Research Interview How to approach semi-structured and unstructured interviews? Before designing an interview, the researcher needs to decide what he or she wants the outcome to be. If the researcher wants reliable statistics, a structured interview needs to be employed (the researcher must be confident and knowledgeable enough about the topic to ask appropriate questions). Suppose the researcher wants to acquire detailed descriptions of procedures. In that case, an unstructured interview needs to be applied (the researcher knows too little about the topic to ask relevant questions). The advantages and disadvantages of structured and unstructured interviews can be summarized as in Table 14.1. The researcher needs to identify the topic of interest. For example, it may be something entirely distinct, ‘assessing the design and use of sensory gardens in special schools’ or something very vague, such as ‘what are outdoor school facilities?’ Decide who the respondents are. There might be a limited number of respondents for a particular topic, such as the special school’s staff. For a vaguer case, the researcher may need to talk to a range of people before he or she can sort out which would be the most appropriate person to interview (Ahmed et al., 2016). For example, in a school study, the researcher might want to question the school managers and keepers. While developing a rapport, the researcher needs to be clear about the purpose of the interview at this stage, either simply collecting data for the final report or learning about the topic to make further decisions about the direction of the study. Once the respondents are selected, begin work in getting access and setting up appointments with them. Fix venue and a time to conduct the interview. Make sure all official channels have been cleared, including administration approval. This process is usually done through the gatekeeper, and it can be time-consuming, so it is advised to commence as early as possible. Table 14.1 Advantages and disadvantages of structured and unstructured interview Advantages of a structured interview

Disadvantages of an unstructured interview

A large sample can be reached hence the Due to its lengthy time, a small number of results can be used to make statements that are interviews can be conducted thus the results are representative of a particular population unlikely to be used as typical of a populace Respondents’ answers can be compared and turned into statistical statements

It is hard to compare the respondents’ answers because each one is different and unique

Disadvantages of a structured interview

Advantages of an unstructured interview

Respondents are forced to choose between the alternative answers prepared by the researcher

Respondents can answer in as many details as they want

The formal conversation may make respondents feel inhibited

The informal talk encourages respondents to feel relax

Obtaining accurate information on attitudes, opinions and values is difficult

Specific information about respondents’ attitudes, views and values can be gathered

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Decide the objective(s) of the interview. It can be a particular interview question. For example: Do you see any improvements in the students’ development and social interactions after having a sensory garden in the school? If yes, please describe and give examples of any benefits you have discovered. Did you see any problems in the sensory garden when users are using the sensory garden? If so, please describe and give examples of any issues. What is the most successful garden feature/area concerning use? What is the least successful garden feature/area regarding use? Has any use surprised you? What would you like to see improved in the sensory garden? If you had the opportunity to design a sensory garden again, what would you like to see carried out differently?

Alternatively, the questions of the interview may be much more comprehensive. For example: What is a sensory garden? Are not all gardens sensory? What does a sensory garden comprise?

It is crucial to avoid using yes/no or short questions unless the researcher plans to use some prompt sheet. Decide on whether to tape-record or write notes during the interview. Each of these strategies has related to pros and cons as in Table 14.2. Warning: Interview recordings take a great deal of time to transcribe and analyse. Tips: Avoid intimidating equipment. Bring enough batteries or a power supply. Think of all the tapes you could need. Think about choosing the location of the interview. Try the interview out. Get a colleague or a friend to pretend to be the respondent. Please go through the questions and write down the answers or tape-record them. Get feedback on how easy to difficult to respond to the questions. Find out whether or not the questions elicit the right kind of responses and what it will be like holding an interview. This way improvements can be made. Plan what to wear. The researcher should look efficient, sensitive, caring, trustworthy, and most importantly, the sort of person who will understand the respondents’ point of view. Plan how much time is needed to conduct the interview. If interviewing very busy people, make sure that the crucial questions are early on so that if they have to rush off, at least the critical issues have been answered.

During the Research Interview Make sure the tape/digital recorder is switched on and working. The essential qualities are that the recorded session is considerable and can record soft voices in a noisy setting.

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Table 14.2 Advantages and disadvantages of writing notes Advantages of tape/digital recording

Disadvantages of writing notes

The researcher needs only focus on the process of the interview and engage eye contact as well as non-verbal cues (nodding, smiling when appropriate and hesitation) with the respondent. This method captures information in a way that ensures integrity and clarity hence a precise record of the whole interview will be obtained

Note-taking can be distracting to respondents. It may lead them to think that they have said something significant. Conversely, when the researcher doesn’t make a note, they may think their comments insignificant. Concentrating on asking questions, listening to the answers and taking notes is a complex and challenging process hence a precise record of the interview will not be obtained

Disadvantages of tape/digital recording

Advantages of writing notes

Some respondents may feel anxious and less likely to reveal confidential information

By having two team members (an interviewer and a note-taker), respondents might feel easy with the well-managed interview session

Transcribing and analyzing from recording must be included in the budget and calendar

Produce an instant record of the key points of an interview. The researcher does not need to worry about initial sorting, categorizing and analyzing the data collected

The best audio-quality recorder is pricey. Bring Inexpensive. Do not depend on electronics. enough batteries/power supplies and tapes. Only a pen, papers, and clipboard are needed Avoid intimidating a recorder that is too large or heavy Source Developed by authors

Introduce yourself. Talk a bit about yourself to build rapport and explain your research objectives (even if an official letter has been sent). Emphasize the confidential nature of the interview. The researcher should never tell anyone a detailed response (except the researcher’s supervisor) unless with the respondent’s consent. Begin with easy, impersonal questions, such as: When did the project start? What was the general idea behind it? Then move to slightly more personal ones, for example: When did you first get involved? And then to more probing questions. In general, the art of the research interview is to build up a rapport so that respondents feel they want to voice their opinions. The researcher should spend as little time speaking as possible and use non-verbal signs, such as nodding, smiling when appropriate and eye contact to demonstrate an interest in the respondent’s words. A respondent can speak depending on the interview’s nature (semi-structured or structured) and the researcher’s competence. The researcher needs to allow silences to happen so that the respondent can reflect and perhaps produce new insights. This is difficult in an interview since the researcher felt to be in charge of the direction of the talk (even if the interview is unstructured). At the same time, the researcher needs to monitor the relevance of what is being answered and make decisions about whether to nudge the respondent back on course,

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ask a new question, or leave the respondent to talk. This is difficult for the researcher who is worried about contaminating the data with interviewer bias. It is also difficult for the researcher to build and maintain rapport and break in on a respondent’s lengthy answer, even when it wastes time. Some respondents need lots of encouragement to talk and keep drying up; others are so aggressively talkative that it is challenging to break in. Researchers need practice in interviewing, and it is advantageous if the researcher can identify the type of person he or she finds it hardest to deal with and rehearse a strategy for coping with them in the interview process. At the end of the interview, thank the respondent for their time and cooperation. It is the responsibility of the researcher, not the respondent, to end an interview.

After the Research Interview Write up notes on the researcher’s perceptions of the interview as soon as possible. These include a description of the respondent, the response received during the interview session, descriptions of the atmosphere, buildings, rooms, etc. All of this detailed information may be useful in the data analysis stage. Transcribe recordings and write up interview notes immediately. It is relatively easy to remember the detail for a day or so, and after that, the details begin to fade. Since it takes about three or four times as long to write interviews up as it does to conduct them, do not hold too many very close together, or you will end up with a lot of recordings or scribbled notes piling up. Researchers may follow up research interviews in various ways, which they could send interview notes and further questions to the respondent for comments or clarifications. They could also hold interview sessions in phases, exploring and changing opinions, views, and sharing experiences.

Validating Data How can the researcher know that the opinions expressed are fair and valid? There are two (2) approaches to answering this question: (i) The practical solution This problem can be addressed by designing research, which employs various qualitative methods, such as observations, interviews, questionnaires, etc., and makes inquiries to as many people as possible (do not take one person’s word as the truth). This will assist the researcher in achieving a balanced perspective on the data (Islam & Faruque, 2016). Also, to avoid misunderstandings that can

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arise in an interview, it is good to send a neat transcription to the respondent for comments. (ii) The methodological solution The issue of what constitutes adequate description is always an issue in research. This includes questions about the adequacy and truthfulness of respondents’ answers to questions and the descriptions that researchers develop from these answers. Researchers should always recognize that there is no reliable version of the truth and that answers obtained will vary slightly or significantly, depending on who the respondent is. We return to the notion that a research interview is a set of questions put to an expert about a topic, presented as follows:

RESEARCHER

asks

RESPONDENT

about

TOPIC

and hears the respondent`s description of the topic

In a research interview, the researcher has to rely on what the respondent states. The researcher must not absorb the respondent’s description of the topic directly because the information gained is not direct experiences but is opinions. It does not mean that these are unreliable information, but it shows that every respondent has a different perception about the same topic, explained as follows:

questions and answers RESEARCHER

RESPONDENT 1

about

The researcher asks questions about the same topic but receives answers from two unique responses (opinions)

questions and answers RESPONDENT 2

TOPIC

about

In addition to this point about respondents’ opinions, it is worth recognizing that any interaction and communication between two persons is a process of interpretation by both parties, illustrated as follows:

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RESEARCHER sets questions into words

RESPONDENT interprets meaning of the question

Communication process in a research interview

RESEARCHER interprets meaning of the answer and asks next question

RESPONDENT states the answer

Handling the issue of adequate description as a methodological problem means acknowledging that there is a point at which no one can be sure that description perfectly matches the topic which it describes. Research operates to understand that description comes as close as possible to the topic. It represents while allowing that there may be discrepancies between different respondents’ perceptions of the topic.

Analysing Interviews There are some approaches to analysing the interviews. The researcher may not produce a transcript but analyse the recording session directly. One may not have recorded the interviews but be working from the personal notes. However, searching for significant statements and comparing what was mentioned in different interviews will be similar. Suppose the interview has been recorded and produced interview transcripts and has the facilities to input these data onto a computer. In that case, an increasing number of computer software packages are available to assist the analysis process, such as NVIVO. It would be sensible to check it out before transcribing the tapes. The text of the interviews can be coded or marked either during input or afterwards. The program also allows searching interview transcripts for particular codes or words.

Examples of Interview Analysis Abramson and Mizrahi (1994) described using a ‘grounded theory’ approach to analyse the interview transcripts, which has focused on social worker/physician collaborations. They identified three phases of analysis: Open coding, axial coding, and theoretical coding. In the preliminary phase (open coding), they reviewed ten transcripts to identify provisional concepts. These concepts were then modified and added, leading to a redirection of the sampling strategy and improvements in interview techniques. To see whether the categories fitted, they applied the categories devised from this initial analysis to another round of data. Axial coding is to seek

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connections between the categories identified. Theoretical coding is the evolution of a paradigm and a conditional matrix. This first example of interview analysis showed that grounded theory includes coding the interview transcript in key concepts. The grounded theory also develops a perception of the research process, with concept development, data collection, and data analysis in close conjunction and feeding into each other. As the research process unfolds, more precise identification and understanding of the concepts of relevance is reached. Hussein (2009) carried out preliminary interviews with teachers and therapists in a special school. Each record contained her notes written during the interview and a summary of the staff’s background. First, she went through the interview notes while analysing them. Then, without losing the personal touch, she examined them with an orderly approach. The second example involved a novice researcher who was not consciously following any particular process to analyse the data she collected. However, her analysis shows strong similarities to a grounded theory approach, though it was not so extensive. Moreover, the interview transcripts’ analysis and the comparison of the answers to specific questions given by a range of respondents are also analogous to the general approach.

Conclusions The research interview falls as one of the qualitative methods. A research interview technique engages questioning and discussing issues with people. When choosing this technique, researchers need to be concerned about selecting people to interview and how to gain access from the gatekeepers. Researchers must play an active and reflective role in the interview process, i.e., asking main questions, follow-ups, and probing (finding the truth about something). Compared to observation and survey questionnaires, research interviews can be an efficient method for collecting data that would be more accessible. At the end of this chapter, you should be able to: . appreciate the complex access and ethical issues involved in doing research interviews. . understand better using research interviews. . be mindful of the pros and cons of research interview techniques for collecting data. Finally, . be prepared to cope with the ups and downs of the data collection experience.

References Abramson, J. S. & Mizrahi, T. (1994). Examining social work/physician collaboration: An application of grounded theory methods. Qualitative Studies in Social Work Research, 28–48.

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Ahmed, V., Opolu, A., & Aziz, Z. (Eds.). (2016). Research methodology in the built environment: A selection of case studies. Taylor & Francis. Buckeldee, J. (1994). Interviewing carers in their own homes. In The research experience in nursing (pp. 101–114). Chapman and Hall. Hussein, H. (2009). Therapeutic intervention: Using the sensory garden to enhance the quality of life for children with special needs. Unpublished doctoral. Hussein, H. (2012a). Affordances of sensory garden towards learning and self-development of special schooled children. International Journal of Psychological Studies, 4(1), 135–149. Hussein, H. (2012b). The influence of sensory gardens on the behaviour of children with special educational needs. Procedia—Social and Behavioural Sciences, 38, 343–354. Hussein, H., & Daud, M. N. (2015). Examining the methods for investigating behavioural clues of special-schooled children. Field Methods, 27(1), 97–112. Islam, M. R. & Faruque, C. J. (Eds.). (2016). Qualitative research: Tools and techniques (eds.). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Mason, J. (1996). Qualitative researching. Saga. Zeisel, J. (1981). Inquiry by design: Tools for environment-behaviour research. University Press. Zimring, C. M. (1987). Evaluation of designed environments: Methods for post-occupancy evaluation. In Bechtel, Marans & Mitchelson (Eds.), Methods in environmental and behavioural research. Van Nostrand.

Chapter 15

Sampling Techniques for Quantitative Research Moniruzzaman Sarker

and Mohammed Abdulmalek AL-Muaalemi

Abstract In quantitative research, collecting data from an entire population of a study is impractical in many instances. It squanders resources like time and money which can be minimized by choosing suitable sampling techniques between probability and non-probability methods. The chapter outlines a brief idea about the different categories of sampling techniques with examples. Sensibly selecting among the sampling techniques allows the researcher to generalize the findings to a specific study context. Although probability sampling is more appealing to draw a representative sample, non-probability sampling techniques also enable the researcher to generalize the findings upon implementing the sampling strategy wisely. Moreover, adopting probability sampling techniques is not feasible in many situations. The chapter suggests selecting sampling techniques should be guided by research objectives, study scope, and availability of sampling frame rather than looking at the nature of sampling techniques. Keywords Sampling techniques · Quantitative study · Probability sampling · Non-probability sampling

Introduction While researcher has to decide to embrace qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods in a study, they need to deal with many critical issues such as research objectives, study setting, research strategies, unit of analysis, and sampling methods. The decision to select between qualitative or quantitative should not be determined by the preference of the researcher, yet it is guided by the research question(s) of a study. Usually, the quantitative approach attempts to answer the question ‘what’, such Moniruzzaman Sarker (B) Assistant Professor of Marketing, Southamton Malysia Business School, University of Southamton Malysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] M. A. AL-Muaalemi Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_15

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as ‘what is the relationship between personality traits and consumer behaviour?’ whereas the qualitative approach aims to answer more complex questions like ‘why’ and ‘how’, for example, ‘how to motivate employees to increase productivity?’. If a study aims to generalize the findings to a certain group of the population, then the quantitative approach is applied (Creswell, 2014; Malhotra & Das, 2010; Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). One of the major considerations that the researcher pays special attention to is designing an appropriate sampling strategy (Cooper et al., 2006; Creswell, 2014; Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). In the area of social science research, collecting data from the entire group population is not practical. For example, when a researcher’s objective is to study the behaviour of human beings (e.g., the general public, a consumer group, employee group) in research, there will be an infinite number of respondents in a population. Collecting responses from every element is impossible, is time-consuming, and requires a huge budget. On the other hand, if the unit of analysis in a quantitative study is an organization (i.e., companies), or one individual from a company, the researcher can collect data from the entire elements of the population. However, the effort required to manage data from each organization is challenging. Besides, choosing an entire group of the population or a small subgroup of the population to collect the data also depends on the research questions and objectives that are going to be solved throughout the research. The entire set of elements that are the interest of the researcher is considered as the population and the sub-group of the population is regarded as a sample (Malhotra & Das, 2010; Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). Before going into detail, the following terminologies are needed to be defined to understand the phenomenon of sampling techniques (Fig. 15.1). Choosing a small group from the population is neither straightforward nor easy to execute. If the sample characteristics are not similar to the population parameters, the findings derived from that sample group will lead to bias results as well as will hindrance the generalizability of the findings (Bryman & Bell, 2015; Collier & Bienstock, 2007; Marshall, 1996). Therefore, the researcher has to design the sampling procedure properly to select the representative sample objects from a target population. There are different sampling techniques in which some follow a very structured process while some are flexible. However, all the sampling techniques have their strengths/limitations. Consideration in adopting a sampling technique depends on research objectives that need to be addressed in research. For example, in some cases, less strict type of sampling techniques is suitable, such as snowballing and quota samples while in other cases, more strict types are required, like random sampling. This book chapter provides a brief understanding of the types of sampling technique which is followed in the quantitative study. Specifically, the following section discusses the importance of sampling techniques, the types of sampling techniques along with advantages and disadvantages, and probability and non-probability sampling in social science research.

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Population

223

Sample

Selection

200 million

Average value of population is called population parameter.

1,000

Average value of sample is called sample statistics.

To illustrate an example where sample is representative of population, assume the population parameter of the frequency of online purchase is between 10-15, and the sample statistics of the frequency of online purchase is 10-15. In this case, we may say that the sample is representative of the population, because the difference the sample statistics is similar to population parameter. Fig. 15.1 Basic terminology in sampling techniques

Importance of Sampling Techniques The sampling technique in quantitative research comes from its ability to draw small units of the population (i.e., sample size) and generalize it to the population (Seddon & Scheepers, 2012). In a study, specifically in behavioural research where the number of population elements is too large, collecting data from every element of a population is unreal. Besides, the time, cost, and effort required to collect data from the entire population are another concern to the researchers (Zikmund et al., 2013). For instance, a researcher wants to study the purchase behaviour of iPhone users in the USA. According to Statista, in 2016 there are more than 90 million iPhone users. Without sampling, the researcher must go through the impossible task of approaching all the 90 million iPhone users. The amount of time, effort, and money needed to approach all iPhone users require endless efforts that is practically impossible and unfeasible. To make a study realistic to conduct, the researcher takes a small sample of the population. To generalize the findings of a sample, the sample must be representative of the population. Hence, the researcher has to carefully choose a small group of respondents who have similar characteristics as a population holds. Regarding the

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previous example, if the overall iPhone users in the USA have an average monthly income of USD 2000 (population parameter), then the sample group of respondents should contain a similar income (sample statistics). Any significant deviation between population parameters and sample statistics will lead to findings that will be not representative of the population. Furthermore, these findings will also be unable to generalize to the population. The sampling technique allows the researcher to select the representative samples from which data can be collected. Practically, the required criteria for selecting a sample from a population are diverse and differ across the study. Thus, drawing a representative sample is not an easy task. The researcher has to choose carefully among the various sampling techniques (probability sampling vs non-probability sampling) depending on the research objectives and criteria set for the study. Every sampling technique has its strengths and weakness. Therefore, it is important to understand the nature, advantages, and disadvantages of each sampling technique to be adapted to a study.

Types of Sampling Techniques in Quantitative Research There are two main types of sampling techniques are observed—probability and non-probability sampling (Malhotra & Das, 2010; Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). If the population is known and each element has an equal chance of being picked, then probability sampling applies. However, at times it is impossible to assume that each element in the population has an equal chance to be selected as a subject. In that case, non-probability sampling is conducted. Figure 15.2 illustrates the two main types of sampling techniques with the sub-types. The next section will discuss each sub-type individually. Sampling Techniques

Probability Simple Random Sampling Stratified Sampling Proportionate

Systematic Sampling

Nonprobability Convenience Sampling

Cluster Sampling

Disproportionate

Purposive Sampling Judgmental Sampling

Snowball Sampling

Fig. 15.2 Types of sampling techniques in quantitative research

Quota Sampling

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Probability Sampling From its name, probability sampling is applied when elements in the population have an acknowledged equal probability to be selected as subjects. Hence, samples in probability sampling design, compared to non-probability sampling, are a better representation of the population, which means better generalizability (Malhotra & Das, 2010). There are two main parts of probability sampling designs, which are determined by the nature of the population; for simple populations, unrestricted sampling is applied, and for complex populations, restricted sampling is used. Table 15.1 provides a symbolic illustration of how the probability sampling technique is applied. The following section will further discuss each type in more depth.

Simple Random (Unrestricted) Sampling Random sampling is used when each element must have an identified and identical chance of being selected. For example, if there are 100 elements of pens in the population, we want to pick 10 of them to become the subject and be examined. If we put all the elements of the population (i.e., 100 pens) in a box and shake it, we know that each element has a 1% chance to be selected. The advantage of this type is that it is the most representative type with the least bias; thus, the findings can be generalized to the population (Zikmund et al., 2013). On the other hand, when we have a huge population, random sampling becomes expensive to conduct. Moreover, it is not always convenient to obtain an updated list of populations such as all the consumers of iPhone, and in some cases, the list of the population can be confidential information such as airline passengers. In the case when random sampling proves impractical and near impossible, the following techniques (Table 15.1) can act as substitutes.

Systematic Sampling Systematic sampling is adaptable when studied subjects comprised every nth element from the population at random. For instant, in the manufacturing of water bottles, if there are 10,000 bottles produced every hour. Researchers must randomly select a number, let that be 50 for this example, then every 50th bottle produced is picked to create the subjects of the study/test. Although systematic sampling is not complicated to use, it may carry systematic bias.

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Table 15.1 Symbolic illustration of probability sampling techniques 1. Simple random sampling A

B

C

D

E

1

6

2

7

Select five random numbers from 1 to 25, the resulting sample consists 11 16 21 of population elements 2, 4, 13, 20, and 22. Note that there is no element from group B 12 17 22

3

8

13 18 23

4

9

14 19 24

5

10 15 20 25

2. Systematic sampling A

B

1

6

C

2

7

D E Select a random number between 1 and 5, say 4. The resulting consists of 11 16 21 population 4, (4 + 5 = )7, (4 + 5 × 2 = )14, (4 + 5 × 3 = )19, (4 + 5 × 4 = )24. Note that all the elements are selected from a single row 12 17 22

3

8

13 18 23

4

9

14 19 24

5

10 15 20 25

3. Stratified sampling A

B

C

D

E

1

6

2

7

Randomly select a number from 1 to 5 from each stratum, A–E. The 11 16 21 resulting sample consists of population elements 2, 6, 13, 20, and 21. Note that one element is selected from each column 12 17 22

3

8

13 18 23

4

9

14 19 24

5

10 15 20 25

4. Cluster sampling A

B

1

6

C

2

7

3

8

D E Randomly select three clusters, A, C, and E. Within each cluster, 11 16 21 randomly select one or two elements. The resulting sample consists of population elements 5, 12, 15, 21, and 25. Note that no elements are 12 17 22 selected from clusters B and D. or the researcher can choose a group and 13 18 23 collect the entire data (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) from it

4

9

14 19 24

5

10 15 20 25

Source Adapted from Malhotra and Das (2010)

Stratified Sampling Stratified sampling is suitable when different sub-groups of the population have different characteristics and require a different way to study them and compare them. For example, a manager of a firm may want to find employee productivity. In the firm, there are employees in the management, engineering, and administration sub-groups. Under this scenario, since each sub-group has different productivity measures, all the employees of the firm are considered as the population, and the manager can use stratified sampling to segregate each sub-group so that data can be

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gathered according to the character of each sub-group. Stratified sampling allows the population to be divided into meaningful sub-groups that can be compared and/or addressed separately, but it requires more time than random and systematic sampling. Since the nature of data is homogenous inside each stratum but different across the strata, the researcher needs to gather data proportionately or disproportionately from every stratum.

Cluster Sampling Cluster sampling is a technique where the population is split into clusters, then elements from each cluster are selected as subjects. Each cluster contains similar nature of data; hence, inside the cluster, data are heterogeneous whereas, across the cluster, the nature of data is homogeneous. Therefore, the researcher can choose either one or more than one cluster to gather the data. Take area cluster, for instance, the decision to select the location of a new supermarket can be done by taking the city map and studying the residents of different blocks in the city. Cluster sampling is very cost-efficient but lacks generalizability.

Non-probability Sampling Unlike probability sampling, in a non-probability sampling design, the likelihood of each element in the population to be selected as a subject is not the same. Although that could generate a lack of generalizability to the population, sometimes generalizability is not the main goal of some studies (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). Some studies aim to get exploratory results with a low budget. On the other hand, referring to the aforementioned example of iPhone users, it would be near impossible to give each iPhone user the same probability to be selected to form the sample of a study. Therefore, with the generalizability shortcoming, still, non-probability sampling design is needed and applied in studies to achieve quick and low-cost results. The subsequent section will discuss the types of non-probability sampling techniques and present a symbolic illustration of implementing non-probability sampling techniques in Table 15.2.

Convenience Sampling The keyword in this sampling technique is ‘convenience’. This technique relies on selecting elements that are easily and conveniently accessible. An example of convenience sampling is when a researcher conducts a study on employee satisfaction and conveniently distributes the questionnaire via WhatsApp to their circle of friends

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Table 15.2 Symbolic illustration of nonprobability sampling techniques 1. Convenience sampling A

B

C

D

E

1

6

11 16

21

2

7

12 17

22

3

8

13 18

23

4

9

14 19

24

5

10 15 20

25

Group C happens to assemble at a convenient time and place. So, all the elements in this group are selected. The resulting sample consists of elements 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Note that no elements are selected from groups A, C, D, and E

2. Judgmental (purposive) sampling A

B

C

1

6

11 16

D

E 21

2

7

12 17

22

3

8

13 18

23

4

9

14 19

24

5

10 15 20

25

The researcher considers groups A, C, and D to be typical and convenient. Within each of these groups, one or two elements are selected based on typicality and convenience. The resulting sample consists of elements 1, 3, 14, 18, and 20. Note that no elements are selected from groups B and E

3. Quota (purposive) sampling A

B

C

D

E

1

6

11 16

21

2

7

12 17

22

3

8

13 18

23

4

9

14 19

24

5

10 15 20

25

A quota of one element from each group, A–E, is imposed. Within each group, one element is selected based on judgment or convenience. The resulting sample consists of elements 4, 7, 14, 16, and 24. Note that one element is selected from each column group

4. Snowball sampling Random selection

Referrals

A

B

C

D

E

1

6

11

16

21

2

7

12

17

22

3

8

13

18

23

4

9

14

19

24

5

10 15

20

25

Elements 3 and 6 are selected randomly from groups A and B. Element 2 refers to element 20. Element 6 refers to elements 22 and 23. The resulting sample consists of elements 3, 6, 20, 22, and 23. Note that no element is selected from group C

Source Adapted from Malhotra and Das (2010)

and family members. Despite the generalizability issue with convenience sampling, it proves to be fast, efficient, and convenient.

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Purposive Sampling Sometimes selecting respondents based on convenience defeats the purpose of a study. In some cases, a researcher needs to target very specific elements of the population, such as financial managers, who can deliver the necessary or professional information. The selection of very specific elements can be because they are the exclusive source of information, or due in part to satisfying the characteristics of respondents fixed by the researcher. In that case, convenience sampling is not logical, and instead, undertaking purposive sampling makes more sense. The two main purposive sampling techniques are judgemental and quota, which will be discussed next.

Judgemental Sampling In judgemental sampling, those who can offer needed information based on certain experiences are selected to be subjects. For example, if a research’s objective is to find the reason why buyers return laptops and ask for a refund, the only individuals who can provide such information are buyers who have gone through the experience of purchasing laptops and returned them for a refund. Selecting that specific type of subject ensures that the information given is reliable about their personal experience. Based on the objective of a study, judgement sampling can sometimes be the only logical technique to gather meaningful information to fulfil the research goal.

Quota Sampling Quote sampling design ensures that different population sub-groups are fairly represented by fixing quota to each sub-group. Usually, the number of selected subjects have the same number it represents in population. For example, studying the tourists’ satisfaction in a particular country would require splitting the population of tourists into sub-groups based on country or region. Say research needs 200 subjects where 30% of tourists come from Europe, 40% from Asia, 10% from Africa, and 20% from North America. Then, the researcher needs to select a representative quota of each sub-group (i.e., 60 European, 80 Asian, 20 African, and 40 North American subjects). That way, each sub-group of the tourist population is well represented informing the study sample. Although quota sampling design is hard to generalize to the population, however, it can come in handy when sub-group minorities need to be represented in a study.

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Snowball Sampling Snowball sampling (also known as referral sampling) is a technique to select subjects that are in a network or a chain (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). Subjects are selected based on the criteria needed in the research, then respondents are requested to refer to other elements that belong to the same population to become subjects of the sample (Malhotra & Das, 2010). The cycle keeps going and respondents keep referring to new subjects until the number of respondents is fulfilled. Appropriate scenarios to use snowball sampling design is when the targeted population is a very small minority or when identifying targeted subjects is especially difficult due to identity anonymity, such as HIV-positive patients or criminal gang members.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Type of Sampling Technique After going into detail about the different types of sampling techniques, one can see the importance of the research goal, nature of population, time, and cost in determining the appropriate type of sampling technique to apply. Where some techniques excel in saving time and money, they may lack generalizability and vice versa. Table 15.3 provides a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of each type of sampling technique.

Probability and Non-probability Sampling in Social Science Research Sampling decision is one of the key aspects of quantitative research design. Specifically, in survey research, non-response bias might be present due to adopting an inappropriate sampling technique (Clottey & Grawe, 2014; Lindner et al., 2001; Sax et al., 2003). Ideally, probability sampling techniques are a desirable method of selecting sample elements from a population. However, the majority of research in the area of social science adopted non-probability sampling techniques (Memon et al., 2017; Rowley, 2014). Probability sampling is considered to be able to choose a more representative sample as each element in a population has an equal chance of being selected whereas, in non-probability sampling, the chance of being selected is not equal (Malhotra & Das, 2010; Sarstedt et al., 2018). Despite the theoretical conceptualization of choosing a probability sampling technique, non-probability techniques have been adopted in about 70% of publications compared to only 8% adopted probability sampling (Sarstedt et al., 2018). It indicates that carefully applying the non-probability sampling method also yields representative responses from the sample. Although probability sampling yields a generalizable response, it

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Table 15.3 Summary of advantages and disadvantages of sampling techniques Description

Advantages

Disadvantages

Random sampling

All the elements in the population are identified and listed. Each element has an identical chance to be selected as a subject

Least bias and best generalizability of findings to the population

Expensive and sometimes impossible to get a full list of all population

Systematic sampling

A random n point is selected from the sampling frame, and every nth element is picked as the subject

Simple and easy if the Systematic bias can sample frame is be an issue accessible

Stratified sampling

First, the population is Splitting the split into meaningful population allows for subgroups representative sampling for each subgroup, and meaningful comparison is achievable

Requires more time

Cluster sampling

The population is split Inexpensive date into clusters (for collection (especially example, area cluster) area/geographic clusters)

Lacks generalizability

Convenience sampling

The selection of elements as subjects is based on ease and convenience

Cannot be generalizable

Judgemental sampling

The selection of In some studies, this elements as subjects is the only practical is based on their and logical technique ability to provide information according to their experience

Quota sampling

Each subgroup of the population is adequately represented as subjects by fixing a quota similar to their number in the population

Sampling techniques Probability sampling

Nonprobability sampling Low-cost, fast, and elements are easily accessible

Cannot be generalized to the whole population. Meaningful

Very practical when Hard to generalize involving a minority subgroup is necessary for a study

(continued)

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Table 15.3 (continued) Sampling techniques

Description

Advantages

Disadvantages

Snowball sampling

First subject(s) are selected, then-current subject(s) will refer new subjects

Inexpensive and enables researchers to identify more subjects that are difficult to reach

Referral creates bias, which leads to a lack of generalizability to the entire population

Source Adapted from Sekaran and Bougie (2016)

is not necessarily practical in all cases (Memon et al., 2017). In behavioural research where human beings are studied, in many instances, randomization is not necessary. As, obtaining the list of overall population elements is challenging in a consumer behaviour survey, drawing sample elements using probability sampling techniques is impractical. Research objectives guide the researcher to choose suitable sampling techniques. For example, Hulland et al. (2017) mentioned that if the objective of the research is to test a proposed theory, the non-probability sample is more appropriate. Whereas probability sampling fits well when researchers want to generalize the findings of sample elements to the population of the study (Memon et al., 2017). Therefore, along with the research objectives, time, availability of sampling lists, and the nature of the research setting are the guiding issues to the researcher when choosing between probability and non-probability sampling techniques.

Conclusions In a quantitative study, the researcher desire to generalize the findings to a specific study context. Nonetheless, this success precisely depends on the ability to adopt appropriate sampling techniques. As each sampling technique affect the distribution of sample characteristics in different ways, the generalizability also varies accordingly (Feild et al., 2006; Sarstedt et al., 2018). Hence, researchers need to be very careful while choosing the sampling techniques for their study. The chapter outlines the brief discussions about the types of probability and non-probability sampling techniques and concludes that probability sampling techniques are more structured and systematic which enable the researcher to select representative sample elements. However, the challenge related to implementing these techniques cannot be ignored, and in many cases, using the probability techniques is impossible. One should keep in mind that probability sampling only works when the full list of population elements or sampling frame is available. On the contrary, non-probability sampling does not require any sampling frame and collecting data from sample respondents by following this technique is more convenient than probability sampling. Specifically, it is suggested to use non-probability sampling techniques when the criteria of adopting a sampling technique fit with the issues related to research objectives, research scope, sampling objectives, and unavailability of the sampling frame. Despite the associated

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strengths and weaknesses of each sampling technique, the researcher can minimize the biases by following a two-stage sampling method in which probability sampling will be followed by non-probability sampling or vice versa. For instance, researchers can initially select the area/organizations/city/local area (group) from the entire population group by using a random sampling method; afterwards, the participants within this group can be selected by following convenience, judgemental sampling techniques. However, this process must align with the criteria of respondents to become a respondent of a study. In practice, non-probability sampling techniques have been widely adopted in the area of social science research whereas in experimental research probability sampling techniques are more appealing. Overall, researchers must be guided by the research objectives, research scope, and research setting while selecting a suitable sampling technique.

References Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2015). Business research methods (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. Clottey, T. A., & Grawe, S. J. (2014). Non-response bias assessment in logistics survey research: Use fewer tests? International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 44(5), 412–426. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-10-2012-0314 Collier, J. E., & Bienstock, C. C. (2007). An analysis of how nonresponse error is assessed in academic marketing research. Marketing Theory, 7(2), 163–183. https://doi.org/10.1177/147059 3107076865 Cooper, D. R., Schindler, P. S., & Sun, J. (2006). Business research methods (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill Irwin. Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications, Incorporated. Feild, L., Pruchno, R. A., Bewley, J., Lemay, E. P., & Levinsky, N. G. (2006). Using probability versus nonprobability sampling to identify hard-to-access participants for health-related research: Costs and contrasts. Journal of Aging and Health, 18(4), 565–583. https://doi.org/10.1177/089 8264306291420. Hulland, J., Baumgartner, H., & Smith, K. M. (2017). Marketing survey research best practices: Evidence and recommendations from a review of JAMS articles. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 46(1), 92–108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-017-0532-y Lindner, J. R., Murphy, T. H., & Briers, G. E. (2001). Handling nonresponse in social science research. Journal of Agricultural Education, 42(4), 43–53. Malhotra, N. K., & Das, S. (2010). Marketing research: An applied orientation (6th ed.). Pearson Education. Marshall, M. N. (1996). Sampling for qualitative research. Family Practice, 13(6), 522–526. https:// doi.org/10.1093/fampra/13.6.522 Memon, M. A., Ting, H., Ramayah, T., Chuah, F., & Cheah, J.-H. (2017). A review of the methodological misconceptions and guidelines related to the application of structural equation modeling: A Malaysian scenario. Journal of Applied Structural Equation Modeling, 1(1), i–xiii. Rowley, J. (2014). Designing and using research questionnaires. Management Research Review, 37(3), 308–330. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-02-2013-0027 Sarstedt, M., Bengart, P., Shaltoni, A. M., & Lehmann, S. (2018). The use of sampling methods in advertising research: A gap between theory and practice. International Journal of Advertising, 37(4), 650–663. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2017.1348329

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Sax, L. J., Gilmartin, S. K., & Bryant, A. N. (2003). Assessing response rates and nonresponse bias in web and paper surveys. Research in Higher Education, 44(4), 409–432. https://doi.org/ 10.1023/a:1024232915870 Seddon, P. B., & Scheepers, R. (2012). Towards the improved treatment of generalization of knowledge claims in IS research: Drawing general conclusions from samples. European Journal of Information Systems, 21(1), 6–21. Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill building approach (7th ed.). John Wiley & Sons. Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., & Griffin, M. (2013). Business research methods (9th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Chapter 16

Data Analysis Techniques for Quantitative Study Md. Mahsin

Abstract This chapter describes the types of data analysis techniques in quantitative research and sampling strategies suitable for quantitative studies, particularly probability sampling, to produce credible and trustworthy explanations of a phenomenon. Initially, it briefly describes the measurement levels of variables. It then provides some statistical analysis techniques for quantitative study with examples using tables and graphs, making it easier for the readers to understand the data presentation techniques in quantitative research. In summary, it will be a beneficial resource for those interested in using quantitative design for their data analysis. Keywords Social research · Quantitative research · Sample size · Probability sampling · Data measurement · Data analysis

Introduction Quantitative methods focus on statistical, mathematical, or numerical analysis of data gathered or collected through questionnaires, surveys, or observational studies using computational techniques. Quantitative research concentrates on gathering numerical data and simplifying it across people or explaining a particular phenomenon (Babbie, 2015; Muijs, 2010). The quantitative analysis objective is to develop and employ statistical models, theories, and hypotheses about phenomena. To carry out quantitative research findings, one needs to use statistical methods. Statistical methods involve collecting, describing, analysing, and drawing conclusions from data. This chapter will focus on the quantitative (statistical) methods used to analyse data in the social science context (Islam, 2019). Details about the quantitative methods in social science research with examples can be found in (e.g., Neuman, 2002; Gorard, 2003; Bailey, 2008; Bickman & Rog, 2008; Bernard & Bernard, 2012; Punch, 2013; Lampard & Pole, 2015; Bryman, 2015). Md. Mahsin (B) Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Canada e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_16

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It is essential to determine each variable’s level of measurement before analysing a dataset because certain types of statistical techniques depend on measurement levels, described in a later section. For example, a one-way analysis of variance requires that the dependent variable be an interval or ratio (continuous) variable, and the independent variable might be a nominal-level variable. A specific statistical approach indicates what the variables require measurement scale under study (primarily dependent variable). Then, it is essential to check the interested variables meet these requirements. The statistical techniques for quantitative studies in social science are described later in this chapter.

Measurement Levels of Variables Generally, it is essential to know the scales of measurement in all quantitative social science research. There are four measurement levels available in the statistics literature. The distinction among these four scales (Fig. 16.1) is considered essential for conducting statistical analyses.

Nominal Variables Nominal variables consist of classes that can be differentiated from each other only because they are different in their names. Each value is a class, and the values themselves are considered a label for the class name, and no order/rank exists between classes. Some nominal variables examples are gender, place of residence, and race. Stevens (1946) classified variables into four levels. These are referred to as level of measurement, or levels of data. 1. Nominal 2. Ordinal 3. Interval scale 4. Ratio scale

Nominal (Attributes are only named)

Ordinal (Attributes can be ordered)

Interval (Distance is meaningful)

Ratio (Absolute zero)

Fig. 16.1 Classification of measurement levels of variables. This figure is created by the Author

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They represent a subject belonging to which group and do not provide any quantitative information about the subjects. As an example, gender describes some subjects are males, and others are females. However, it does not present some subjects possess a specific characteristic relative to others.

Ordinal Variables On an ordinal scale, the numbers describe the categories or variable values for identification and ranking, and a variable measured using an ordinal scale is known as an ordinal variable. In this scale, the numeric codes present different variable categories, and they can be arranged in ascending or descending order. Educational qualification ranging from no formal qualifications to school and college qualifications to university degrees is an example of an ordinal variable. It is evident that some classes indicate a higher level of qualifications than others, and each class is different.

Interval Variables In an interval scale, the numbers present variable values, and the level of measurement is classified into a scale of equal units where zero value is not zero’s. The corresponding variable is called the interval variable. It provides more quantitative information than the ordinal variable as the difference between the two values is meaningful. Measurement of temperature through the Fahrenheit degree scale is an excellent example of an interval scale where the difference between 60 and 65° is equal to 80° and 85°. However, the interval scale does not have an actual zero-point representation. For example, a Fahrenheit thermometer reads 0°, meaning that no heat is present in the environment.

Ratio Variables In ratio scales, the equal differences between scale values have equivalent quantitative meaning to interval scales. However, a valid zero-point definition in ratio scales has a valid zero point, and it is an additional property. There are factual statements about the ratios between scale values, and a variable measured using ratio scales is known as a ratio variable. To measure an object in terms of inches with a standard ruler is an example of a ratio scale where zero inches indicate a complete absence of length. In addition, it is feasible to make meaningful statements about ratios in this scale. For example, an object four inches long means twice as long as an object two inches long.

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Variables

Qualitative

Nominal

Quantitative

Ordinal

Interval

Ratio

Fig. 16.2 Classification of variables according to levels of measurement. This figure is created by the Author

Based on the definitions of the levels of measurement, it is clear that the qualitative variables consisted of the first two (nominal and ordinal) measurement levels, and quantitative variables comprised the other two (interval and ratio) measurement levels. Figure 16.2 shows the summary of the types of variables based on the levels of measurement.

Statistical Analysis Techniques for Quantitative Study Statistical analysis techniques for quantitative studies can describe data, generate hypotheses, or test hypotheses. Figure 16.3 shows the schematic representation of the data analysis process for quantitative study design. Descriptive statistics summarize and describe a group’s characteristics or compare groups and are described in the next section. There are three types of statistical analyses available for quantitative studies: (i) univariate, (ii) bivariate, and (iii) multivariate.

Univariate Analysis The simplest form of quantitative analysis is the univariate analysis, where a single variable is involved. More specifically, it represents the distribution of a single variable. Univariate analysis is used to describe and summarize the single variable in the data and find its patterns. However, it doesn’t examine its causes or relationships

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Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Acknowledging Collecting Data Sensibly

Describing Variability in the Data Descriptive Statistics

Drawing Conclusions in a way that recognizes variability in the data

Fig. 16.3 Data analysis process for quantitative studies in social sciences. This figure is created by the Author

(unlike regression). For example, we would like to see how many subjects were men and how many were women to explore the distribution of gender variables. There are several ways to describe the univariate data, such as the measures of central tendency (mean, mode and median) and dispersion (range, variance, and standard deviation). However, these techniques are not described in this chapter; for details of these techniques with examples, see (Wilcox, 1996; Argyrous, 1997; Aron, Coups & Aron, 2013). This chapter describes the graphical summarization (bar diagram, histogram, line chart, pie chart) of the univariate data in the next section.

Bivariate Analysis Bivariate analysis means analysing two variables together (e.g., the relationship between gender and college graduation). It is one of the easiest methods of quantitative (statistical) analysis (Babbie, 2015), used to explore the relationship between two variables (often denoted as X, Y ). Bivariate analysis is ideal for exploring the association between two variables and predicting a value for one variable (possibly a dependent variable) conditional on knowing the other variable’s value (perhaps the independent variable). The details of this technique are described in the correlation and simple linear regression respective sub-headings. It is a particular case of multivariate analysis where multiple relationships are examined simultaneously (Babbie, 2015). The graphical presentation of

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bivariate analysis depends on the type of variable. More specifically, a scatterplot is a standard visual approach for two continuous variables. On the other hand, a box plot is used for one categorical and one continuous variable. For two categorical variables, a multiple or component bar diagram is standard. These graphs are part of descriptive analysis, and it is described in the next section.

Multivariate Analysis The multivariate analysis focuses on analysing data for more than two variables simultaneously (e.g., the relationship between gender, race, and college graduation). Randomized experiments are usually not used in social science research, whereas they are often used in medicine and natural sciences. However, the social scientists may often depend on quasi-experimental designs in which the experimental and control groups may have initial differences, and it could affect the study’s outcome. Multivariate methods account for these differences statistically, and the outcome is adjusted to control the differences. For example, the prediction of the risk of heart disease may depend on the following variables: smoking, exercise, diet, and family history. Several statistical approaches are available in statistical literature for multivariate analysis, and the most appropriate method depends on the type of study and the research questions. The most commonly used multivariate techniques are multiple linear regression, analysis of variance (ANOVA), analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Among these techniques, only multiple linear regression, logistic regression, and ANOVA approaches are described in this chapter later. For details of the other methods with examples, see (Stevens, 2012).

Descriptive Analysis for a Single Variable and Two Variables Descriptive analysis means statistically describing, aggregating, and presenting the data in a summarized way to gain a ‘snapshot’ of the data. Specifically, it provides a fundamental summary of each variable in the dataset. There are two ways to summarize the data, tabular (frequency distribution), and graphical methods. Tables usually present the data in an easy-to-understand format, whereas graphs visually show the data and often highlight its patterns. For example, Table 16.1 presents the frequency distribution of weights (kg) for 112 students of the University of Dhaka. Table 16.1 presents the most of the student’s weights are between 66 and 68 kg, especially 42 of 112 students falling into this category. Additionally, the percentage provides information about their proportion.

16 Data Analysis Techniques for Quantitative Study Table 16.1 Weights (kg) of the112 male students of the University of Dhaka

Weight (kg)

241

Number of students

Percentage

60–62

12

10.7

63–65

26

23.2

66–68

42

37.5

69–71

20

17.9

72–74

12

10.7

Total

112

100

Source Assumed data by author

Graphical Representation of Data A graphical representation refers to a visual display of data using plots and charts. It helps us to quantify, sort, and understandably present data too many audiences. It can aid in deciding the appropriate data analysis method and explaining the conclusions stemming from the study. The main types of graphical representation of tabulated data are (i) bar diagram, (ii) line chart, (iii) pie chart, (iv) histogram, (v) scatter diagram, and (vi) box plots.

Bar Diagram A bar diagram refers to a graph of a frequency distribution of categorical data (nominal or ordinal) where each bar presents a category in the frequency distribution. The area of each bar is proportional to the frequency or relative frequency in a bar diagram. For example, a simple bar diagram presents the number of persons (population) in Bangladesh, whereas a component or stacked bar diagram presents the population stratified by age groups. In a bar diagram, the x-axis shows categories of a categorical variable, and the y-axis presents the count (or sometimes percentage) of each category. There are three types of bar diagrams that are available: 1. Simple bar diagram. 2. Component (or stacked) bar diagram. 3. Multiple bar (or grouped) bar diagram.

Simple Bar Diagram Simple bar diagrams are very popular but they can represent only a single variable. For example, the population of Bangladesh from 1901 to 2011 can be represented by a simple bar diagram, and it is shown in Fig. 16.4.

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Fig. 16.4 Population (in millions) of Bangladesh from 1901 to 2011. Source Data is adapted from the Population and Housing Census (2011), and the figure is created by the Author

Component Bar Diagram This type of bar diagram shows the total frequency (or value) and the various components constituting the total value by a single bar. For different categories of a variable, the bars for each category are drawn and placed above the other. Each bar component corresponds to each category, while the whole bar represents the total frequency (or relative frequency). Figure 16.5a displayed the percentage of the population of Bangladesh divided into three age groups for different years.

(a) Component bar diagram

(b) Multiple bar diagram

Fig. 16.5 Percentage of the population of Bangladesh in three age groups from 2000 to 2010. Data is adapted from the Population Division of UN, (2010), and the figure is created by the Author

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Multiple Bar Diagram A multiple bar diagram illustrates the relationship between two or more variables simultaneously, where each bar represents a category. For example, the percentage of the population of Bangladesh divided into three age groups for different years is compared by a multiple bar diagram in Fig. 16.5b.

Line Chart Line charts usually show how a quantity changes continuously, and this quantity is more often measured as time changes. Figure 16.6 shows the line chart for data on sales volume for ten months for a salesperson as an example.

Pie Charts A pie chart can also summarize a categorical variable. A circle presents a pie chart with “slices” of the pie that illustrates the different categories of the variable. A slice size in a pie chart is proportional to the corresponding frequency or relative frequency for a particular category. Pie charts are the most effective tool for summarizing categorical variables for a small number of categories. Figure 16.7 presents a pie

Fig. 16.6 Volumes of sales (in thousands of dollars) for 10 months of a salesperson. Source Data is adapted from the https://blog.hubspot.com, and the figure is created by the Author

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Fig. 16.7 Development expenditures of Bangladesh government for the textile and apparel industry of budget 2015–16. Source Data is adapted from the Ministry of Finance, Bangladesh Government, and the figure is created by the Author

chart showing the development expenditures of the Bangladesh government in other sectors for the textile and apparel industry of budget 2015–16.

Histogram A histogram is an appropriate graphical representation of the distribution of quantitative data. It is a particular type of bar chart that divides up the range of possible values into classes or groups. For each group, a rectangle represents the number of observations falling into that group. The histogram and bar chart looks very similar, but there are no gaps between the bars. A bar chart illustrates a graphical presentation of the categorical variables (such as sex or ethnicity). A histogram can display continuous variables (usually on the x-axis, the horizontal axis) split into class intervals or discrete variables. Figure 16.8 presents the frequency distribution of age for the 200 coronavirus cases.

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Fig. 16.8 Histogram of age for the 200 coronavirus subjects being tested positive. Source Data is adapted from the opencovid.ca/, and the figure is created by the Author

Scatter Diagram Researchers are frequently interested in exploring the relationship between two or more quantitative variables. A scatter diagram is a powerful tool to visualize the relationship (if any) between two or more quantitative variables. A scatter diagram allows us to ascertain the type and extent to which the variables are related or not. As an example, Fig. 16.9 shows the scatter plot of height and weight for the 200 healthy subjects being tested coronavirus negative where there is an increasing relationship between height and weights. As height increases, the weight of the subject increases.

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Fig. 16.9 Scatterplot of height versus weight for the 200 healthy subjects being tested coronavirus negative. Source Data is adapted from the opencovid.ca/, and the figure is created by the Author

Box Plot Box plot is a powerful tool to summarize experimental data and identify outliers. Box plot (sometimes known as box and whisker plot) graphically summarizes the quantitative variable based on the median, quartiles, and extreme values rather than means and standard deviations. The interquartile range is presented by the length of the box that contains 50% of the data. The lines that extend from the box to the highest and the lowest values are known as whiskers. The median is presented by a dark line across the box. Figure 16.10 shows a general configuration of a box plot. As an example of a box plot, Fig. 16.11 shows a side-by-side boxplot of the total cholesterol level for 200 subjects based on smoking status (non-smoker, pipe, cigarette). Box Whisker

Lowest Observation

Lower Quartile, Q1

Whisker

Median, Q2

Upper Quartile, Q3

Highest Observation

Fig. 16.10 General configuration of a Box and Whisker Plot. Source This figure is created by the Author

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Fig. 16.11 Box plot of the total cholesterol level with relation to the smoking status. Source Data is adapted from the https://r-charts.com, and the figure is created by the Author.

Statistical Methods to Examine the Relationship Between Two Variables The bivariate analysis describes the relationships between two variables rather than comparisons of groups (Agresti & Kateri, 2011). It explores the relationship between two variables and determines the strength of the relationship. Correlation and simple linear regression approaches are examples of the bivariate analysis technique. Specifically, correlation determines the magnitude of the linear relationship between two variables. In contrast, regression mainly deals with predicting the value of the dependent variable when a value of the independent variable is known. For example, correlation and regression methods determine the relationship between height and weight for a group of subjects, and weight prediction depends on a given height.

Correlation Correlation is the most commonly used statistical tool to explore the linear relationship between two quantitative (or continuous) variables. The magnitude of the correlation falls between −1.0 and +1.0. A positive correlation means that two variables increase simultaneously, and a negative correlation indicates that one variable increases a fixed amount for a unit decrease in the other. The direction of the relationship is represented by the sign of the correlation, while the number indicates the strength. The larger the size of the correlation means the greater the linear relationship between the two variables. The ‘zero’ correlation value represents no linear relationship between the two variables.

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Two approaches are widely available for calculating the correlation coefficients, which are (i) Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient and (ii) Spearman’s Rho, or rank-order correlation coefficient. Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient is a robust approach for determining the correlation between two variables and is suitable for parametric data. In contrast, Spearman’s Rho correlation coefficient is more appropriate for nonparametric data. These two approaches are described in the following section.

Pearson’s Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient, also known as Pearson’s rho, or simply Pearson’s r, measures the direction and strength of the linear relationship between two continuous variables. It is the product of the linear relationship between a dependent and independent variable.1 Mathematically, it is expressed as the covariance of two variables divided by the product of their standard deviation. The covariance measures the directional relationship between two variables together, whereas the standard deviation determines the variation between observed values and their mean. The formula for calculating sample Pearson correlation coefficient (r) for {x1 , x2 , . . . , xn } and {y1 , y2 , . . . , yn } is given by [n

− x)(yi − y) /[ n 2 2 (x − x) i=1 i i=1 (yi − y)

r = /[ n

i=1 (x i

[n where x = n1 i=1 xi (the sample mean); and analogously for y. For example, Pearson’s correlation coefficient between an average number of cigarettes/day and coronary heart disease (CHD) for 21 countries is 0.71 reveals a strong positive linear association between the average number of cigarettes/day and CHD.

Spearman Rank Correlation Spearman rank correlation is a nonparametric procedure for determining the linear relationship between two variables where the actual observations are replaced by their ranks in calculating the correlation coefficient. It determines the association between two ranked variables, or one ranked variable and one measurement variable. A simple formula for calculating Spearman’s rank correlation is given by,

1

It is called the “Pearson correlation coefficient” in honour of Karl Pearson, a British mathematician who developed the method.

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[ 6 d2 ( ) rs = 1 − n n2 − 1 where d is the difference between the two ranks of each observation and n is the number of observations. For example, Spearman’s rank correlation between the level of education and income is, rs = −0.10 indicates that there is a weak relationship exists between the level of education and income.

Simple Linear Regression Using a straight line, simple linear regression (SLR) explores and models the relationships between two continuous (quantitative) variables. It is helpful to ascertain the probable form of the relationship between two variables. SLR’s main objective is to predict or estimate the value of a dependent variable corresponding to a given value of an independent variable. It is the most widely available technique for determining how one variable of interest (the response variable, Y ) is affected by changes in another variable (the explanatory variable, X). It is a widely used statistical technique in several disciplines such as business, the social and behavioural sciences, biological sciences, and medicines. A few applications of the SLR are: 1. The product sales prediction depends on the relationship between sales and advertising expenditures. 2. The prediction of the job performance of an employee depends on the relationship between performance and aptitude tests. 3. The prediction of the length of hospital stay of a surgical patient depends on the relationship between hospital stay time and severity of the operation, and so on A simple linear regression model can be stated as follows: Yi = α + β X i + εi

(16.1)

where Yi and X i are the response and the explanatory variable for the ith subject; α and β represent the intercepts and slope parameters of the regression model. Here, the random error term εi assumes that it has a mean E{εi } = 0 and constant variance σ 2 {εi } = σ 2{; εi and } ε j are not correlated with each other so that their covariance is zero (i.e., σ εi , ε j = 0 for all i, j; i /= j = 1, 2, . . . , n).

Estimation of the Parameters The regression coefficients of the SLR are estimated such that it yields optimal predictions. Two approaches are mainly available to estimate the parameters in the

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Fig. 16.12 Illustration of the estimate simple linear regression equation. Source This figure is created by the Author

simple linear regression: ordinary least squares (OLS) and maximum likelihood estimation. The OLS method is one of the most commonly used approaches to estimate the SLR intercept and slope regression coefficients. With this approach, a set of regression coefficients is determined by minimizing the sum of squared residuals (i.e., the differences between the outcome values and the fitted values). The fitted y value is computed based on the given x value and the estimated intercept and slope regression coefficients. By OLS method, the estimates of α and β are: βˆ =

[n

([n ) [n [n 1 [n (yi − y − x) i=1 i=1 x i i=1 yi i=1 x i yi − n = [n ( )2 [n 2 1 [n 2 x) − (x i=1 i i=1 x i − i=1 x i

i=1 (x i

n

/\

αˆ = y − β x [n where x = n1 i=1 xi (the sample mean); and analogously for y. The estimated regression model can now be written as yi = a + bxi + ei or yi = yˆi + ei where yˆi is the fitted value of the dependent variable, and the residual ei is the difference between the observed and the fitted values. Figure 16.12 illustrates an example of the estimated simple linear regression equation.

Statistical Methods for Multivariate Analysis Multivariate data analysis is an essential tool for social researchers, and it is the most widely used technique in quantitative social research projects. In social science, much of the interest lies in the relationships between many variables. For example, we are

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interested in people’s views on global warming related to their political views as their views on either topic are isolated. When considering three or more variables simultaneously, it becomes necessary to consider multivariate statistics to analyse their relationship. Multiple linear regression is one of the most commonly used techniques in multivariate analysis, and it describes in the following section.

Multiple Linear Regression Multiple linear regression (MLR) is a generalization of simple linear regression and is the most commonly employed multivariate technique. There is a single dependent variable and a single independent variable in simple linear regression. In contrast, there is a single dependent variable in multiple linear regression and more than one independent variable. The technique relies upon determining the linear relationship with the lowest sum of squared variances. Therefore, the common assumptions in multiple linear regression are normality, linearity, and equality of the variance. The generalized form of the multiple linear regression model is as follows: Yi = β0 + β1 X 1i + · · · + βk X ki + εi

(16.2)

where Yi is the dependent variable, X 1i , . . . , X ki are the independent explanatory variables, β0 , . . . , βk are the parameters/regression coefficient associated with X 1 , . . . , X k , and εi is the random noise or error term. The multiple linear regression analysis aims to obtain estimates of the unknown parameters β0 , . . . , βk , which measure the change in independent variables by the dependent variable. The ordinary least squares (OLS) technique is a commonly used approach to estimate the parameters of this regression model. The assumptions underlying the OLS are: 1. Linearity is assumed between dependent and independent variables, the random noise term enters additively, and the regression parameters are constant across individuals. 2. There is no correlation between the random noise and the independent variables. 3. The mean of the random noise is zero, the random noise for different observations is uncorrelated, and the variance of the random noise is a constant (homoscedasticity). So, the random noise terms are independent and identically distributed. 4. The independent variables are not perfectly collinear, i.e., no independent variable is a linear combination of the others. Under these assumptions, the parameters of the regression model (2) can be estimated by standard statistical software such as SAS, SPSS, Stata, and R. These software provide the standard errors of the estimated parameters and the p-values for testing the parameters.

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It is essential to check whether all the model assumptions are valid before making an inference based on the fitted model. Inferential procedures may result in faulty conclusions for any violated assumptions. Therefore, it is essential to perform appropriate model diagnostics. Graphical methods and formal statistical tests can perform model diagnostic procedures. These procedures are available in most statistical software such as SAS, Stata, SPSS, and R. In SPSS, details about model fitting and diagnostics for linear regression can be found (Field, 2009).

Logistic Regression Logistic regression is an appropriate statistical modelling approach for the categorical dependent variable. It describes the linear relationship between a categorical dependent variable and one or more continuous and categorical independent variables. The probability of a particular category in a dependent variable determines which variables have a higher association in the logistic regression. This category of a dichotomous variable has only two types: pass or fail of a test, positive or negative of a disease, guilty or not of a crime, and so on. However, it is also possible to consider three or more categories: anguishing from nervousness, sadness, or both. A binary logistic regression model is suitable for the dichotomous dependent variable. The multinomial logistic regression model is appropriate for the polychotomous dependent variable. This chapter considers only binary logistic regression, and it is also known as logistic regression for short. For details about the multinomial logistic regression, see (e.g., Hosmer & Lemeshow, 2004). A general form of the logistic regression model is as follows: ) ( πi = β0 + β1 X 1i + · · · + βk X ki logit(πi ) = log 1 − πi where πi = Pr(Yi = 1|X i ) =

exp(β0 + β1 X 1i + · · · + βk X ki ) 1 + exp(β0 + β1 X 1i + · · · + βk X ki )

where Yi is the only dichotomous dependent variable, X 1i , . . . , X ki are the independent or explanatory variables, and β0 , . . . , βk are the associated parameters/regression coefficient. The regression coefficient β j represents the change in the logit of the probability associated with a unit change in the jth explanatory holding other explanatory variables as constant. The exponentiated coefficient eβ j represents an odds ratio which is useful as it can deal with a more familiar (linear) scale while retaining a relatively simple model. The maximum likelihood (ML) method is a common approach to estimate the parameters of the logistic regression model. This can be implemented by most statistical software such as SAS, SPSS, Stata, and R. For details about model

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building, fitting, and assessing the fit of logistic regression models with examples, see (Hosmer & Lemeshow, 2004).

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) To examine the variance in a quantitative variable that differs significantly from the expected by chance for a qualitative variable or its interaction with one or more other qualitative variables, analysis of variance (ANOVA) is the most commonly used parametric statistical approach. Where the qualitative variable consists of two groups, a significant difference suggests that the means of two groups are possible to be dissimilar from each other. If the variance differs and the qualitative variable only comprises more than two groups, this signposts that the means of two or more of these clusters are to be expected to vary. An analysis of variance deals with one or more factors. More specifically, a oneway analysis of variance is an appropriate statistical tool for a single factor, two-way analysis of variance for two factors, three-way analysis of variance for three factors, and so on. Levels represent the groups or categories within a factor. This chapter considers only a single-factor analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) and the other ANOVA’s with examples are available in Stevens (2012). For example, a single-factor analysis of variance is used to examine the hypotheses that the means of two or more groups are different or not, and it is specified as follows H0 : μ1 = μ2 = · · · = μk against H1 : At least two of the μ' s are different The analysis assumes that the observation is based on independently selected random samples, one from each population. It assumes random assignment of the experimental units (subjects or objects) to treatments, and the data typically results from an experiment for comparing treatment means. The key assumptions for the ANOVA are: 1. 2. 3. 4.

The normality is assumed for each of the k population or treatment response. Identical standard deviations are assumed for each of the k normal distributions. The observations are independent of each other. The k random samples are selected independently to compare the population means. To compare treatment means, the treatments are assigned randomly to subjects or objects.

In ANOVA, the between-groups variance guess is compared with the withingroups variance estimation. When the between-groups variance estimation is substantially greater than the within-groups variance estimation, the variances between the

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means are not likely to be due to chance or blunder. Distributing the between-groups variance estimation by the within-groups variance estimation is known as the F-test and is calculated as follows: F=

between − groups variance estimate within − groups variance estimate

The value of F is large when the between-groups variance estimation is greater than the within-groups variance estimation. The higher F value indicates that the means of the groups will fluctuate considerably from each other by chance. Details about this F-test with examples can be found in Stevens (2012). Likely SLR and MLR, the one-way ANOVA can be performed by the standard statistical software such as SAS, SPSS, Stata, and R.

Conclusions In this chapter, I described commonly used statistical approaches that would benefit social researchers uncertain about which technique is most appropriate for analysing their data. The methods described in this chapter are of a possibly great number of quantitative variables. It outlines important statistical approaches that would help understand subsequent processes. In guiding the students as to which procedure is best for their data, it is beneficial to consider them regarding the kind of variables they are applied to. Multiple linear regression determines which quantitative and qualitative variables and their connections are associated with each other. Qualitative variables are presented as dummy variables for the analysis of variance. The predictors enter into the multiple linear regression in three different ways. In the usual or shortest method, all prognosticators enter simultaneously. In the statistical or stepwise approach, predictors select the variables that elucidate the extreme variance in the benchmark. In the tiered or chronological method (Discriminant analysis), prognosticators enter an encoded direction to determine what impact they create (see Klecka, 1980; McLachlan, 2004). To determine the association between one or more qualitative independent variables and their interactions with a quantitative dependent variable, analysis of variance is the appropriate statistical technique. A significant association of the qualitative variable comprises only two groups, indicating that the two groups’ means are different. The posthoc t-test determines the significance of the differences for exploring which means differ. Specifically, the differences between the groups’ means are explored with a posthoc test, such as the Scheffé test (see Montgomery, 2012, pp. 66–130). To explore the association of the quantitative independent variables with a quantitative dependent variable, analysis of covariance is the suitable statistical technique; for details with examples, see Montgomery (2012).

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The logistic regression model is the appropriate statistical technique for a qualitative dependent variable (e.g., extreme poverty vs. not). It deals with both qualitative (e.g., safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, and education) and quantitative (age, height, BMI) variables and their interactions as the independent variables. This chapter discussed the simple binary logistic regression model, where the dependent variable entails two groups. It determines which qualitative and quantitative variables and their connections are powerfully allied with the probability of a specific class of the dependent variable befalling after considering their connotation with the other prognosticator variables in the analysis. The predictors enter into a logistic regression in three different ways, similar to multiple linear regression.

References Agresti, A., & Kateri, M. (2011). Categorical data analysis. Springer. Argyrous, G. (1997). Statistics for social research. Macmillan Education Australia Printery Limited. Aron, A., Coups, E., & Aron, E. N. (2013). Statistics for the behavioral and social sciences: A brief course: Pearson new international edition. Pearson Higher Ed. Bailey, K. (2008). Methods of social research. Simon and Schuster. Babbie, E. R. (2015). The practice of social research. Nelson Education. Bernard, H. R., & Bernard, H. R. (2012). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Sage Publications. Bickman, L., & Rog, D. J. (Eds.). (2008). The sage handbook of applied social research methods. Sage Publications. Bryman, A. (2015). Social research methods. Oxford University Press. Field, A. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS. Sage Publications. Gorard, S. (2003). Quantitative methods in social science research. A&C Black. Hosmer, D. W., Jr., & Lemeshow, S. (2004). Applied logistic regression. John Wiley & Sons. Islam, M. R. (Ed.). (2019). Social research methodology and new techniques in analysis, interpretation and writing. IGI Global. Klecka, W. R. (1980). Discriminant analysis (No. 19). Sage Populations. Lampard, R., & Pole, C. (2015). Practical social investigation: Qualitative and quantitative methods in social research. Routledge. McLachlan, G. (2004). Discriminant analysis and statistical pattern recognition (Vol. 544). John Wiley & Sons. Montgomery, D. C. (2012). Design and analysis of experiments. John Wiley & Sons. Muijs, D. (2010). Doing quantitative research in education with SPSS. Sage Publications. Neuman, L. W. (2002). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Population & Housing Census, Bangladesh. (2011). Preliminary results Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Punch, K. F. (2013). Introduction to social research: Quantitative and qualitative approaches. Sage Publications. Stevens, J. P. (2012). Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences. Routledge. Wilcox, R. R. (1996). Statistics for the social sciences. Academic Press.

Chapter 17

Techniques for Reporting Quantitative Data Md. Mahsin

Abstract A quantitative research report is a way of describing the completed study to other people. The findings are communicated through an oral presentation, a book, or a published paper. The report disseminates the results to research scientists or the policy decision-maker’s stakeholders. It is usually written in plain words so that a layperson can understand it, or it may be so highly technical so that the target audience can understand it easily. It organizes in many different ways depending on the intended audience and the author’s style. A rough sequence of steps for writing a quantitative research report describes in this section: 1. Specify a summary or abstract of the report to give a quick picture of the research article, thesis, review paper, conference proceeding, or in-depth analysis of a particular subject. 2. Define the research problem and discuss the methodology approach. 3. Present the results and findings and finally summarize the significance of the conclusions. Keywords Social research · Reporting · Data · Data reporting · Quantitative data

Introduction Quantitative research reports usually start with a summary or abstract. The size of an abstract varies, and it ranges from 50 words to a full page. Most scholarly journal articles prints the first page of the article as an abstract. The research problem and objectives, research design or data collection features, data analysis techniques, and the primary findings are presented in the abstract. A more extended summary of a study is called an executive summary of the report in applied research. It describes the research implications and significant recommendations made in the report and Md. Mahsin (B) Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Canada e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_17

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contains more detail than an article abstract. An executive summary ranges from four to five pages. Executive summary and abstracts entail very short descriptions where the readers can get a highlight what is going to discuss in the next section. This part should be written in such a way so that the readers can easily understand the whole journal article or a research report. Though there are many techniques to write a good abstract, in general, an abstract carries four important aspects. First, it needs to include a line that will clearly show the research objective; secondly, the research methods and data/materials used in the study should be mentioned; thirdly, the results should be included within two or three sentences that will give the field findings; and finally, the last sentence will include the policy implications or how the readers will be benefitted to read this article or research report. On the other hand, the research report should include the executive summary which will be two or three pages in size that will provide a brief idea of the whole report including research objective, methodology, main findings, and suggestions for policy implications.

Presenting the Problem Probably, the best way to begin a quantitative research report is to explain simply the research problem. For instance, one of the study’s purposes is to ascertain the children who have witnessed domestic violence have lower social interaction skills than children who have not seen such abuse. In this context, the research problem is how would the knowledge derived from this study help social workers? The research problem is usually described in one or more sections with titles such as “Introduction”, “Literature Review”, “Hypotheses”, or “Background Studies”. The sub-headings can be different; however, the contents include a research problem statement and a rationale for investigating the research problem. The researchers then explain the significance of and provide a background to the research question. The importance of the research is then presented by how different solutions to the problem lead to various applications or evidence-informed decision-making processes. The introductory section usually describes the context literature review and links the issue to theory. Preceding paragraphs also define key concepts and present conceptual hypotheses. To write a quantitative report needs to consider the study’s findings should have some form of utilization potential for social workers, or the information would not be worth noting in the first place. More specifically, the report must have some practical, theoretical, or policy significance. That is, the study’s findings would be helpful in the social work profession.

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Describing the Methods After presenting the research problem, the next section of a quantitative research report contains the method(s) used to answer the research problem. This section usually includes descriptions of the study’s design, the research participants who were a part of the study, and a detailed description of the data gathering procedures (who, what, when, how), and the definition of all variables, for example, the meaning of the critical variables, that is, they describe how they would allow them to be measured. When and how the measurements would occur were also presented, and the study’s research design was described. Since a research design encompasses the entire quantitative research process from conceptualizing the problem to disseminating the findings, this part presents who would be studied (the research participants or sample), what data need to collect, and what would be done with the data once obtained (analysis). It is the most important section to evaluate the methodology of the project. In summary, this section answers most of the questions for the reader: • What type of study design (e.g., experiment, observational, survey) was used? • Describes data collection procedures (e.g., study design, type of survey, time and location of data collection, experimental design used? • How were the variables measured? • What is the target population? How many subjects or respondents are needed in the study to obtain the required statistical power? How were they selected? • How were the ethical issues and specific concerns of the design?

Results and Findings The next step involves sampling strategy and measurement scales of the data. This section offers how to analyse and interpret the data. However, researchers sometimes combine the “Results” section with the “Discussion” or “Findings” section. One way to begin with a quantitative report is to prepare the figures, tables, or other data summarization techniques to present the study results. The goal of tables and figures is to give a summarization of the data under study. Then, researchers looked at essential statistical techniques to analyse their data and select the appropriate statistical approach. All of the analysis results are not included in the final report. Instead, the researcher sets the necessary charts or tables that fully inform the reader of the study results and barely present the raw data. Based on the available data, data analysis techniques summarize the data and test hypotheses of the research problem (e.g., frequency distributions, tables with means and standard deviations, correlations, and other statistics). Once a table (or figure) is presented in the report, its interpretation is required. Data displays should be self-explanatory if done correctly. A researcher presents the complete picture of the study results in a constructive way and does not overwhelm the reader. Readers can easily understand the findings

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from the data interpretation section. However, the details of the statistical analysis technique and results can be presented in the appendix section.

Discussion Researchers give the reader an obvious and concise interpretation of their results in the discussion section. The discussion is, in fact, a candid discussion of the “Results” section. The “Discussion” section is separated from the results section to make the results and interpretations understandable to the readers. Organizing the “Discussion” section is challenging for novice researchers. The easiest way to manage the discussion is according to hypotheses and relate the data to each hypothesis. Additionally, unanticipated findings, possible alternative explanations of results, and weaknesses or limitations are discussed in this section.

Drawing Conclusions The final part of a quantitative research report presents a restatement of the research question and summarizes the study findings in conclusion (Neuman & Robson, 2012). Its purpose is to summarize the overall study results and is known as “Summary”. The references and appendices are the sections after the conclusion section. The text or notes from other sources are referred to in the “References” section. Data collection methods (e.g., questionnaire wording), statistical analysis technique (e.g., SLR, correlation), or results (e.g., descriptive statistics) that are not essential in the main report are presented in the Appendix section. To expand or elaborate the information in the text, the footnotes or endnotes are used in the reports. Researchers use them sparingly to provide secondary information that clarifies the text but might distract from the reading flow (Neuman, & Robson, 2012). Finally, a report concludes with a summary of the study’s findings. It is imperative in more comprehensive reports or when a study’s findings and discussion sections are lengthy or complex. Sometimes, people read a long report’s summary and those few sections of the study that interest them.

Reference Neuman, W. L., & Robson, K. (2012). Basics of social research: Qualitative and quantitative approaches.

Part IV

Qualitative Research Approach

Chapter 18

Designing a Research Proposal in Qualitative Research Md. Ismail Hossain, Nafiul Mehedi, and Iftakhar Ahmad

Abstract The chapter discusses designing a research proposal in qualitative research. The main objective is to outline the major components of a qualitative research proposal with example(s) so that the students and novice scholars easily get an understanding of a qualitative proposal. The chapter highlights the major components of a qualitative research proposal and discusses the steps involved in designing a proposal. In each step, an example is given with some essential tips. Following these steps and tips, a novice researcher can easily prepare a qualitative research proposal. Readers, especially undergraduate and master’s students, might use this as a guideline while preparing a thesis proposal. After reading this chapter, they can easily prepare a qualitative proposal. Keywords Social research · Research proposal · Qualitative research · University students

Introduction Generally, a researcher attempts to uncover hidden events to find the answer to a question. A variety of methods and strategies are used for doing this research. The two primary forms of research are quantitative and qualitative. The former is concerned with numerical measurements, whereas the latter is focused on the in-depth meaning of the linguistic aspects. They are one-of-a-kind and are conducted in various ways to provide quite diverse sorts of information. When a researcher considers a natural investigation of a social phenomenon, such as experience, s/he most often thinks of qualitative research. A natural investigation technique is used in qualitative research to acquire an in-depth knowledge of a social phenomenon, and the inquiry is conducted in a natural setting. This method tries to address the question ‘why’ rather than ‘what’. In qualitative research, the researcher relies on primary data, which includes people’s experiences in naturalistic environments (Ahmad et al., 2019; Md. I. Hossain (B) · N. Mehedi · I. Ahmad Department of Social Work, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_18

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Aspers & Corte, 2019). In contrast to qualitative research, quantitative research works with numerical or numerically convertible data. Statistical analysis is fundamental in analysing numerical data. In both kinds of research, a proposal is a prerequisite. The research proposal is the reflection of a researcher’s working plan that s/he is thinking of employing to explore and understand a specific social issue. Researchers convey the relevance of the study to a specific issue through a research proposal. It ideally illustrates the originality and significance of the study, as well as the investigator’s capacity to carry out the planned set of actions (Abdulai & Owusu-Ansah, 2014). A researcher can use some qualitative research designs to gain in-depth knowledge about a social phenomenon. A suitable design for the study may be chosen based on the study’s aims and objectives, as well as the researcher’s expertise. The field of qualitative research is diverse, and the validity of studies that employ such an approach is increasingly being questioned by social and behavioural scientists. It is frequently stated that writing good qualitative research proposals is both a science and an art. Good qualitative research ideas may represent the researcher’s field expertise and approach (Sandelowski & Barroso, 2003). Sharing research ideas with others, on the other hand, helps researchers sharpen their ideas and improves the validity and reliability of the research. Therefore, preparing a research proposal is a prerequisite for all kinds of social research. Qualitative research proposals are not an exception to fulfilling this requirement.

Key Concepts Related to the Designing of a Qualitative Research Proposal Preparing or designing a research proposal is crucial in qualitative research. Being a systematic method of exploring and understanding social phenomena, qualitative research must follow specific procedures. A novice researcher must have an understanding of some key concepts related to qualitative research before following the specific procedures for designing a proposal.

Research Design An appropriate research design is crucial for sensibly understanding a problem. The research design depicts the methods and strategies of inquiry with possible challenges and ways in a study coherently. It also influences regulatory variables that may establish the legitimacy of research results (Grove, Burns & Gray, 2012; Islam, 2019). The design phase of any kind of research provides an opportunity for exploration, showing creativity regarding selected problems. It starts from a state of inquisitiveness to an approach that helps achieve research objectives. As a result, a scientifically valid design is required to handle the research topic rationally, which must include

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other items in the study. Before going to the field to gather data, the researcher must decide on a study design. Research design has a specific goal of maximizing the eventual validity of the study findings (Mouton & Marais, 1990). Furthermore, the research design addresses the issues of how, when, and where data will be gathered, processed, and analysed (Parahoo, 2014). Guidelines depicted in the proposal are followed throughout the study, and therefore, a suitable design is required from the onset (Islam, 2019). The most frequently applied qualitative research designs are narrative, grounded theory, phenomenology, case study, and ethnography. These designs have diverged from one to another, but they share commonalities. The foundation of qualitative research is completely based on a comprehensive understanding of a social issue, scenario, or situation linked to direct experience in the social context (DJS Research, 2021). Exploring lived experiences of people about a particular issue always requires consideration of the social context, which may indicate the application of different techniques, including in-depth interview, group discussion, observation, and documents/content analysis to get an overall picture of the context. There may be some issues of communication to consider (Wilson, 2015). Moreover, it is assumed in qualitative research that using more than one way of collecting evidence is all important for knowing the reality. This strategy is much more appreciated by researchers in phenomenological research. While designing a proposal, researchers must decide along four dimensions to achieve the goals: the purpose of the study, theoretical paradigm, setting in which the study is conducted, and techniques used to gather first-hand experience. Research design is also termed as a strategic framework that is structured to reflect relevant issues guided by two principles: (1) design validity and (2) design coherence (Durrheim, 2006). Research validity is often restricted to complexity, which happened due to researchers’ lack of control over the situation (Campbell & Stanley, 2015). Design validity is ensured by identifying and managing possible validity threats. Design coherence is achieved by the logical construction of the mentioned dimensions (Durrheim, 2006).

Research Proposal: An Action Plan for a Study In general, a research proposal is the first step in an investigator’s decision-making process about a study topic. It provides an initial description of a research problem as well as a description of the process of investigating a social issue. A research proposal is recognized as an important part of the academic arena since it helps academics to explore problems methodically in their area of expertise (Islam, 2019). Research proposals need to be arranged logically to get the justification of the concerned authorities on the proposed research (Abdulai & Owusu-Ansah, 2014). It explains the state, nature, and significance of a particular research project with an approximate time and budget, and it is placed with the concerned authority, which might be an academic institution or organization, who approves the project and may grant funds for running the project. Without the approval of the research proposal by the

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concerned authority, the research work cannot be started or it may not be accepted. According to Boeije (2010), the study proposal is a manifestation of an explanation regarding the method, activities, and prospective results. A proposal generally addresses the planning that researchers have to accomplish to explore the identified issue. It also focuses on the reasons for undertaking the attempt to investigate and how it is intended to be deployed (Al-Riyami, 2008). The proposal gives the researchers a chance to rethink and refine their argument while the research project is proceeding in full swing. Therefore, researchers need to consult proposals at various phases of a research project to focus on the relevance of the issue and to identify and address the challenges that emerge as the project activities progress. Without proper planning, it is impossible to study a problem in the right direction. Researchers may lack focus in data collection processes that hamper the momentum of researchers’ work and lead to other problems affecting the results. Writing a clear proposal will undoubtedly minimize those challenges to a large extent. The research entails a sequence of operations, and thus, the proposal outlines all of them systematically and scientifically. Therefore, on one hand, a research proposal is called a blueprint of the study. On the other hand, a proposal is a tentative research plan; hence, the researcher can revise it in the course of research work. In short, a research proposal demonstrates the central issues of the research in a concise manner. It highlights the features of the research by detailing current information and arguments on the topic. This kind of focus on existing debate may aid and direct researchers to change, modify, or incorporate new ideas into their research.

Qualitative Research A qualitative study is a method of comprehending a societal or human phenomenon. It aims to portray a comprehensive and holistic image by utilizing phases as well as providing a complete overview of the place in the natural environment (Creswell, 1994). It helps academics to learn more about a specific area that has just arisen as a study question and about which little is understood (Liamputtong & Ezzy, 2005). Furthermore, it concentrates on comprehending the study question from a humanistic or philosophical standpoint (Pathak et al., 2013). Qualitative studies usually deal with human subjects. It is specifically used to examine religious opinions, experiences, emotions, actions, and relationships (Pathak et al., 2013). The key features of qualitative research are: it is conducted in a natural setting, relies on researchers as key instruments, involves multiple techniques, focuses on participant perspectives, and is situated within the context, reflective and interpretive, and evolving and emerging design (Creswell, 2013). Due to the obvious flexibility, openness, and receptivity of qualitative studies to the topic, the phases of data collection, procedure, and interpretation are not discrete and consecutive (Russell & Gregory, 2003). Qualitative research may be used to develop a sense of reality, characterize and understand the social environment, and build interpretive theories and models. It is the principal means of constructing or re-examining the theoretical underpinnings

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of the social sciences (Morse & Field, 1996). Qualitative research involves an interpretive philosophy to explain the problem. It is used to interpret or make sense of the terms related to those phenomena according to the connotations that individuals assign to them (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005). This method contrasts with positivism, which uses the statistical measurement of numerical data to process the findings (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). In a nutshell, qualitative research focuses on how individuals perceive or interpret the occurrences around them while making sense of things. Another of the primary themes of qualitative inquiry is how individuals being examined comprehend and perceive wider social realities (Bryman et al., 1988). In qualitative research, there is no way to manipulate the phenomenon according to researchers’ interests. As social phenomena are dynamic and subject to change, qualitative researchers should record an event after and before the change occurs. Like in quantitative research, qualitative researchers also need to ensure the credibility of the findings (Patton, 2001). Qualitative research techniques are employed when the researcher intends to have a better understanding of the phenomenon (Rosenthal, 2016). Here, the researcher attempts to explain a phenomenon from the perspective of participants. Qualitative research is conducted to explore the causes and effects of a phenomenon based on non-numerical data. Generally, the researchers collect direct quotes from the participants. Data are collected using different techniques and from multiple sources and interpreted thematically. Direct conversations, field notes, pictures, recordings, and memoranda are all included as the sources of data (Islam, 2019).

Essential Components of a Proposal in Qualitative Study A qualitative research proposal has some general components. Without these components, a proposal cannot be a complete one. Therefore, while designing a proposal for a qualitative study, researchers must consider these components. The following sections have described the essential components with a specific example.

Title In a qualitative study, the researcher seeks to investigate the participants’ lived experiences about the issue to be investigated. The subject matter of a qualitative study is vast, and it is usually reflected in the title. The title, on the other hand, should be succinct, simple, and comprehensible (Islam, 2019). It should avoid acronyms and instead utilize words that make a good impression and pique the reader’s attention. The title gives the readers a primary view of the selected issue. The title should include some keywords related to the proposed field of research. Ideally, it should comprise 8–12 words. The dependent and independent variables should also be explicitly identified in the title. For instance, if we want to explore the impact of the COVID-19

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pandemic on health workers, a possible title would be “The Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Psychosocial Health of Medical Professionals”. Here in this title, COVID-19 is an independent variable and the psychosocial health of frontline workers is a dependent variable.

Common tips for framing a research title • • • •

Simple and comprehensive. 8–12 words. Clear indication of dependent and independent variable. No technical terminologies or abbreviations.

Statement of the Problem This section expands on the title and describes what has already been known as well as what has yet to be explored. A good research problem should target a gap that exists in the course’s knowledge and lead to more study (Davis, 2021). It is the opening pitch of a study. It establishes the setting and contextualizes the study. Likewise, in research work, a problem statement is employed as a declaration that is to be investigated by a study. The problem statement in a qualitative research proposal highlights the unknown occurrences or inadequacies in the study subjects. Therefore, stating the problem is an important element of qualitative research. Following the aforementioned research title, the problem statements may include the relevance of the study on the psychological health of medical workers. The researcher may clarify that earlier studies have indicated deteriorated physical health, but the state of psychological health has yet to be investigated. Furthermore, the study should be linked to international programmes and policies on the health and well-being of medical health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key issues for consideration in writing the problem statement • Identify some essential and relevant features to explain the investigation’s logic. • Connect the study to some current issues. • Relate the study with some international and national agendas/policies /plans/programs.

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Objectives and Research Questions The objectives offer a general view of the study and what the researchers want to explore. The study objectives direct the researcher where to go. It sets a boundary and gives a specific direction, which helps the researcher not to go all around. Therefore, every piece of research should have a specific goal. In a qualitative study, the research goals and objectives provide the researcher with direction. Without a goal or objective, research is just like a boat in the ocean without any anchoring place. Qualitative research should have both general and specific objectives. The general objective explicitly focuses on the research title, and specific objectives allude to investigating the respondents’ lived experiences of the very closely relevant issue.

Key points in setting research objectives • Two type of objectives: general and specific. • General objective reflects the research title but the wording is bit different. • Specific objectives are the parts of general objective but very simple, concrete, and understandable. • Specific objectives reflect the meaning of what, why, and how related to the main query. Following the above-mentioned title, the general objective of the research can be set as the following: The main aim of this study is to explore the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychosocial health of medical professionals. To fulfil the general aim, the researcher needs to identify specific objectives. Accordingly, the general objective can be divided in the following ways: (a) To understand the workload of the medical professionals during the COVID-19 catastrophe; (b) To find out the challenges in work–life balance during the pandemic; and (c) To figure out the means of adaptation with the challenges.

Literature Review: Concepts and Theories A review of the literature refers to all sources of scientific data relating to the issue of interest. Finding literature is no longer a difficult task in this day and age of digitization and easy access, and there is a lot of literature available from plenty of sources. The investigator finds it difficult to include everything within the current study (Balakumar et al., 2013). As a result, it is critical to look for relevant and recent articles, books, or other kinds of publications. Such things may be retrieved

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using search engines such as Google, Google Scholar, Embase, PubMed, and others. They also check for publisher websites, such as SAGE, Wiley, Lancet, Cambridge University Press, and so on. It is also stated that studying 15–20 articles is optimal for moving on to the research work. Moreover, the researchers may adopt one or more specific theories to explain the whole research. The ‘Review of Literature’ section takes time and is difficult to write. It is said that a review of the literature in an investigation helps to clarify not just the scholastic necessity of investigating the phenomena, but also the researcher’s objectives and purpose in addressing the study (Fry et al., 2017). The researcher may discover relevant material for the abovementioned research title by utilizing the key phrases “COVID-19”, “Consequences”, “Psychosocial Health”, “Medical Professionals”, and so forth.

Key steps in doing literature review • • • • •

Recent and relevant literature. Search with keywords. Selection of approximately 15–20 articles from standard journals. Read the literature carefully and summarize. Compile the notes thematically, juxtapose the findings, find the gaps in support of the current study.

Methodology The methodology is the most crucial part of the research proposal. The methodology outlines the investigation process that is to be adopted in the study. The level of validity and reliability of the research findings particularly depend on how much sound the methodology adopted in the study is. In general, the reviewers are more critical about research methodology. Research proposal with strong and sound methodology are more likely to get grants through competition. The research methodology comprises research approach (quantitative/qualitative), design (case study/phenomenology/ethnography), research area, population and sample, data collection techniques and tools, data collection, and data analysis. The most significant aspect of a research project, whether it is qualitative or quantitative, is the methodology. It also determines the process of sample selection, data collection, and analysis. In this situation, using a phenomenological method will provide themes and sub-themes based on the participants’ experiences. For the aforementioned title, the researcher may use a qualitative research design like phenomenology. In addition, the population must be specified within a specific geographic location. The sampling

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process and sample size must also be explicitly specified. The data collection techniques and tools should be well fitted, and they should be mentioned explicitly. Crosschecking is to be done based on the literature review, supervisors’ comments, or self-expertise. It is also necessary to discuss the data analysis procedure. Qualitative data can be processed and analysed using the MAXQDA and NVivo programs.

Example of the methodology Section The approach of the study: Qualitative Approach. Design of the study: Phenomenological design. Area of the study: Sylhet City Corporation area. Population: All the physicians and nurses in Sylhet City Corporation area. Sample: 15/ based on the saturation level. Sampling Technique: Purposive. Data Collection Techniques: In-depth interview/ KII/ FGDs. Data collection tools: Interview checklist/ guideline/ protocol. Data Analysis: Thematic analysis using MAXQDA. Challenges: Restriction in access due to lockdown.

Ethical Consideration and Philosophical Foundation The philosophical underpinnings, epistemology, are connected to the creation of knowledge in qualitative studies (James & Busher, 2009). Ethical guidelines are a necessary component in the research process that needs to be mentioned in the proposal. The researcher must state how ethical standards will be maintained throughout the study. The qualitative research method investigates people’s experiences in the natural setting. Therefore, qualitative research involving human participants must adhere to ethical standards, regulations, and institutional rules (Pietilä et al., 2020). The proposal must include a declaration regarding the identification and privacy of those involved in data collection. The collection of data directly from the participants must ensure the confidentiality and anonymity of the subjects because disclosure of participants’ identities may be harmful to them. The voluntary participation of the participants should be ensured. Before collecting data, consent must be obtained from the subjects to include them in the study (Walker, 2007).

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Key issues in ethical consideration • • • • •

Informed consent. Voluntary involvement of the participant. Participant’s confidentiality and anonymity. Standards, regulations, and institutional rules. No false promise.

Significance of the Study Every qualitative study, such as phenomenology, should explore the learning paradigms from this epistemological position throughout to explain the validity of understanding (Islam, 2019). Here, epistemology is the philosophy of discovery of the origin, degree, and extension of knowledge (Becker, 1996). It generally describes the potential impact of the study, as well as a brief discussion of the challenges and difficulties in the country/area that are related to the planned study. Then, a discussion should be placed highlighting the contribution of the current study to address the problem of the targeted community or the country. In this portion, the researcher should emphasize the importance of the research. For example, why the researcher is interested in psychosocial health or medical professionals must be described. The researcher should also discuss how the current work will benefit the scientific community.

Key points in significance of the study • The necessity of carrying out the research. • Justify and illustrate possible impact of the study. • Contribution to knowledge among the scientific community.

Scope of the Study The scope of the study indicates the extent to which a study arena will be explored in the study and specifies the variables that will be at work within the exploration (Davis, 2021). The major areas of concern, specific challenges, demographics, and location of the study should be discussed here. Essentially, this implies that the

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study has very specific coverage. This section must clarify the issues that will be addressed and those that will not. This will fall within the constraints. In general, a research article’s scope is preceded by its restrictions (Editage Insights, 2019). Hence, the researcher must set the variables in this part. As an example, he may say that COVID-19 is an independent variable and psychosocial health is a dependent variable. The investigator must also provide a detailed explanation of the topics with which he will deal, such as psychological issues.

Key Issues in scope of the study • Identify the main areas/aspects/concepts of the proposed study. • Targeted problems, population and community/location. • Involving institutions/agencies and stakeholders.

Work Schedule The researchers need to set a specific timeframe for the study. A proposal has no formal ending without having a specific time frame. On the other hand, every piece of research has a definite purpose that is to be accomplished within a certain time frame. Otherwise, the findings would not be usable for the purpose that motivated this study. A time frame guides the researcher when to start and finish the project. The cost of the research is also associated with the timeframe. Any project called by an institution gives a time duration. Researchers must follow the time frame mentioned in the call. For academic research, there is also a time limit. Without finishing the study, the degree cannot be conferred. Therefore, demonstrating the research schedule is a vital component of the proposal. The entire study endeavour might take several months to several years to finish. Using a Gantt chart helps researchers organize required functions such as literature review, methodology and data collection equipment design, data collection, data processing and analysis, report writing, and publication within a specific time frame.

Report preparation and finalization

Data collection and analysis

Preparation of data gathering tools and pretest

Review of literature, development of the questionnaire, determination of the sample size

Activities

1

2

3

4

Months (July 2022–June 2023)

An example of a Ghent chart 5

6

7

8

9

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References Inserting the references correctly is a deft touch. The references in the proposal are typically few. However, each educational institution and publisher has a distinct requirement for referencing. So, before submitting the proposal, the researcher must thoroughly read the submission requirements. The learner must write these end references in alphabetical order (Islam, 2019). There are several referencing styles in the academic area, and academics must utilize one of them. It changes from style to style depending on the journal’s/publisher’s preference. The most popular reference styles include APA (American Psychological Association), Harvard, and Chicago, among others. APA’s 6th edition is the most popular and widely used style. Illustration of an APA reference

Conclusion A proposal is an action plan for research. The quality of the study depends on the proposal. However, designing a good qualitative proposal is a challenging task. Preparing a proposal for a research project is a difficult task in the dynamic landscape of qualitative study. It is more difficult for novice researchers, particularly masters or PhD students since they do not have sufficient experience in qualitative research. The researcher should be aware of the feasibility of executing the action plan while designing a proposal. At the same time, he needs to be aware of the methodology and whether it is conducive to attaining the objectives of the study. Careful following of the steps and addressing the issues mentioned here can draw a good research proposal.

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References Abdulai, R. T., & Owusu-Ansah, A. (2014). Essential ingredients of a good research proposal for undergraduate and postgraduate students in the social sciences. SAGE Open, 4(3), 2158244014548178. Ahmad, S., Wasim, S., Irfan, S., Gogoi, S., Srivastava, A., & Farheen, Z. (2019). Qualitative versus quantitative research. Population, 1, 2. Al-Riyami, A. (2008). How to prepare a research proposal. Oman Medical Journal, 23(2), 66. Aspers, P., & Corte, U. (2019). What is qualitative in qualitative research? Qualitative Sociology, 42(2), 139–160. Balakumar, P., Inamdar, M. N., & Jagadeesh, G. (2013). The critical steps for successful research: The research proposal and scientific writing (A report on the pre-conference workshop held in conjunction with the 64th annual conference of the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress-2012). Journal of Pharmacology & Pharmacotherapeutics, 4(2), 130. Becker, H. (1996). The epistemology of qualitative research. In R. Jessor, A. Colby & R. A Shweder (Eds.), Ethnography and human development: Context and meaning in social inquiry. Boeije, H. (2010). Analysis in qualitative research. Los Angeles Sage Publications. Bryman, A., Bresnen, M., Beardsworth, A., & Keil, T. (1988). Qualitative research and the study of leadership. Human Relations, 41(1), 13–29. Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (2015). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Ravenio Books. Creswell, J. W. (1994). Research design: Qualitative and quantitative approach. London: Publications. Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th Edn.). London: SAGE Publications, Inc. Davis, B. (2021). What is the scope of the study in research proposal? Retrieved from https:// www.mvorganizing.org/what-is-the-scope-of-the-study-in-research-proposal-4/#What_are_str engths_and_limitations. Accessed on August 28, 2021. Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2005). Introduction: The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (pp. 1–32). Sage Publications Ltd. DJS Research. (2021). Qualitative research design. Retrieved from https://www.djsresearch.co.uk/ glossary/item/Qualitative-Research-Design. Accessed on September 12, 2021. Durrheim, K. (2006). Research design. In M. T. Blanche, M. J. T. Blanche, K. Durrheim, & D. Painter (Eds.), Research in practice: Applied methods for the social sciences (Vol. 2, pp. 33–59). Juta and Company Ltd. Editage Insights. (2019). How do I present the scope of my study? Retrieved from https://www.edi tage.com/insights/how-do-i-present-scope-of-my-study. Accessed on August 31, 2021. Fry, J., Scammell, J., & Barker, S. (2017). Drowning in muddied waters or swimming downstream? A critical analysis of literature reviewing in a phenomenological study through an exploration of the lifeworld, reflexivity and role of the researcher. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 17(1). Grove, S. K., Burns, N., & Gray, J. (2012). The practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence. Elsevier Health Sciences. Islam, M. R. (2019). Designing a Ph.D. proposal in qualitative research. In Social research methodology and new techniques in analysis, interpretation, and writing (pp. 1–22). IGI Global. James, N., & Busher, H. (2009). Epistemological dimensions in qualitative research: The construction of knowledge online. SAGE Internet Research Methods, 5–18. Liamputtong, P., & Ezzy, D. (2005). Qualitative research methods. Second. Oxford University Press. Morse, J. M., & Field, P. A. (1996). The purpose of qualitative research. In Nursing research (pp. 1–17). Springer.

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Mouton, J., & Marais, H. C. (1990). Basic concepts in the methodology of the social sciences (Revised). Human Sciences Research Council. Parahoo, K. (2014). Nursing research: principles, process and issues (3rd ed.). Palgrave. Pathak, V., Jena, B., & Kalra, S. (2013). Qualitative research. Perspectives in Clinical Research, 4(3), 192. https://doi.org/10.4103/2229-3485.115389 Patton, A. J. (2001). Modelling time-varying exchange rate dependence using the conditional copula. Pietilä, A. M., Nurmi, S. M., Halkoaho, A., & Kyngäs, H. (2020). Qualitative research: Ethical considerations. In The application of content analysis in nursing science research (pp. 49–69). Springer. Rosenthal, M. (2016). Qualitative research methods: Why, when, and how to conduct interviews and focus groups in pharmacy research. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 8(4), 509–516. Russell, C. K., & Gregory, D. M. (2003). Evaluation of qualitative research studies. Evidence-Based Nursing, 6(2), 36–40. Sandelowski, M., & Barroso, J. (2003). Writing the proposal for a qualitative research methodology project. Qualitative Health Research, 13(6), 781–820. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research. Sage publications. Walker, W. (2007). Ethical considerations in phenomenological research. Nurse researcher, 14(3). Wilson, A. (2015). A guide to phenomenological research. Nursing Standard, 29(34), 38–43.

Chapter 19

Action and Evidence-Based Research Niaz Ahmed Khan and A. Z. M. Manzoor Rashid

Abstract This chapter proffers an overview of Action and Evidence-based research as two related yet distinct methods commonly used in the exploration of society. The purpose is to provide a summary and synthesis of the key dimensions of these methods from the viewpoint of tertiary literature. Establishing facts and reaching a conclusion are the leading objectives of research which is an integral part of development too. Action research, which emerged during the Second World War period, has assumed special significance due to its practicability and active focus on client participation. As a discourse, action research merges the principles and theories of research into practice, hence believed to produce remarkably relevant research findings. It attempts to create a synergy between the hypothesis developed at the diagnostic stage, and the actions are taken based on that assumption. This chapter examines the basic features, scope, and limitations of action research. Evidence-based research and its application in various practices and trades, most notably, in medicine and nursing professions, has become popular since the 1990s. The method essentially focuses on reliable, verifiable, and quality-assured research that can be used as ‘evidence’ in making informed and objective professional and/or policy decisions and judgments. Here, the emphasis is on the generation and use of evidence that draws on rigorous scientific research as distinct from and opposed to intuition, tradition, subjective unsubstantiated opinion, or other unsound bases of information. The discussion here includes definitional and classification issues, typical steps and process of application, and some illustrations. Keywords Social research · Qualitative research · Action research · Evidence-based research

N. A. Khan (B) Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] A. Z. M. Manzoor Rashid Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_19

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Introduction Of late, there has been a revival of interest in the understanding and application of Action and Evidence-based research, especially among the practising quarters. Such an interest, in the main, emanates from the need for making research more relevant for practice and associated policy and decision-making. Put simply, establishing facts and reaching a conclusion are the leading objectives of the research, which is an integral part of development too. It is broadly argued that the ultimate objective of both research and development is to contribute to the welfare and improvement of people and places. Drawing and expanding on this rather axiomatic principle, there has been a cogent argument in favour of focusing on communities, clients and localities—as one prime purpose of research; and accordingly, it has been argued that participation of communities (targeted clients) in the research process is a critical component of any successful pursuit of research (Lambrou, 2001). In this context, and the process, client-focused participatory research approaches, including action and evidence-based methods, have gained gradual prominence mainly due to their practicability, problem-solving orientation, and emphasis on active client (community) participation. Against the above backdrop, this chapter proffers an overview of action and evidence-based research from the viewpoint of tertiary literature. In what follows, the discussion is divided into two main parts (A and B) addressing the two methods of action and evidence-based research, respectively—by focusing on the basic features, process, application modalities, and limitations of each of the methods.

Part A: Action Research The salient concept of action research was first coined by Kurt Lewin in the early 1940s to describe a process that linked social approach and actions to address major social issues during the Second World War period in addressing the dilemma of the urban minorities in the United States. It was widely applied in the education field to bring changes in educational practice. Action research combines the experiences and knowledge of local actors and the scientific community based to answer the hypothesis formulated at the beginning of the research. It is adaptive, flexible, and participatory. Due to its collaborative nature, as commonly argued, action research can promote empowerment at the community level. The elementary feature of action research is to practice the theoretical context to instigate the probe into practice and, in the process, enrich the learning process (Baskerville & Wood-Harper, 1996; Cochrane-Smith & Lytle, 2001). Various researchers, development practitioners, and social scientists defined action research from their distinct viewpoints (Colucci-Gray et al., 2013). According to Blum, action research is a two-stage process consisting of diagnostic and therapeutic phases. In the first phase, the social situation is revealed

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through collaborative analysis, while in the second phase, changes are introduced and consecutive impacts are evaluated. Rapoport defined the concept as follows: Action research aims to contribute both to the practical concerns of people in an immediate problematic situation… by collaboration through the mutually acceptable ethical framework.

The following elucidation by Trip (2005: 446.) offers a comprehensive cognizance of action research as a practice: A process in which a group of people with a shared issue of concern collaboratively, systematically and deliberately plan, implement and evaluate actions. Action research combines action and investigation. The investigation informs action and the researchers learn from critical reflection on the action.

In the contemporary social science research field, action research is also termed participatory research, collaborative inquiry, action learning, system approach, and so on (Lau, 1997). The core principle underlying these terminologies is simple yet crucial: ‘learning by doing’. A useful way of depicting the action research methodology as the cycle of some inter-related steps was popularized by Susman (1983). Put simply, the cycle comprises some action phases: Identifying and delineating the problem; Planning towards resolution of the problem; Translating the plan into concrete actions; Evaluating the overall steps and actions in the cycle; and Eliciting lessons and learning from the process. The problem phase is the first stage where the problems prevailing in the field are identified. Considering the (understanding and determination of the) selected problems and the associated contexts, different courses of actions or options are identified to be applied in the third phase—called the action phase. The results originated through applying actions that need to be evaluated to determine its ability and efficacy for further replications which is finally validated in the learning phase.

Types and Categories Since its inception, action research has gone through several modifications and changes to support varying needs and objectives. Being a ‘learning by doing’ approach, action research attempts to accommodate the problems and potentials of the field and the relevant clients as discussed earlier. Generally speaking, four types of action research are practised: The first type may loosely be termed as ‘Traditional action research’ and it entails a process that integrates practical pursuit, theory and practice, and community school-based participants to identify practical solutions to a concern. Traditional action research stemmed from Lewin’s (1946) work within organizations and encompasses the concepts and practices of Field Theory, Group Dynamics, T-Groups, and the Clinical Model. This traditional approach tends towards the conservative, generally maintaining the status quo with regard to organizational power structures. The second type is popularly known as ‘Action learning’ or ‘Contextual action learning’. It is a modified version of the traditional action

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research that stresses the active role of participants as project designers and as coresearcher throughout the process. Based on the concept described by Trist (1977), this form of action research tries to accommodate all affected parties and stakeholders at its best. The third type is called ‘Radical action research’. Based on the principles of Marxian dialectical materialism and the praxis orientations of Antonio Gramsci, the radical action research stream lays a particular focus on the emancipation process and reduction of power imbalances among the poor and affected parties (O’Brien, 2001). Participatory Action Research is often found in liberationist movements and international development circles, and Feminist Action Research both strive for social transformation via an advocacy process to strengthen marginal and downtrodden groups in society. The fourth type—‘Educational action research’—is a stream of action research originated and flourished based on the philosophy of John Dewey, who believed that human beings generally learn better through a ‘hands-on approach’ (Baskerville & Pries-Heje, 1999). This research type recognizes the importance of engaging professional educators both teachers and students in the community problem-solving process. In its nature, the approach is practically applied and useful in developing the primary and secondary education system. Besides, professional educators can also play role in community development projects as and when necessary.

The Principles Action research is a dynamic process as it entails and accommodates flexibility, changes, and pluralistic views and criticism. There is no fixed or universally accepted set of principles concerning action research. However, several studies have suggested various principles to guide the action research process. In this regard, six principles prescribed by winter (1996) are particularly worth mentioning: Reflexive critique: The norm of reflective critique assures that the individual reflects on issues and processes and make explicit the explanation, pre-dispositions, speculations, misunderstandings, and concerns upon which the decisions are being made. Dialectical critique: Facts or observations are widely abstracted through dialogue; hence, a dialectical critique is required to understand the set of interactions both between the phenomenon and its context and between the elements forming the phenomenon. Collaborative resource: Every individual participant of any action research process is deemed as co-researchers. The collaborative approach strives to avoid the tilting of reliability generated from the prior status of an idea holder. It especially makes possible the insights obtained from addressing the inconsistencies between many perceptions and as well as within a single perception. Risk: Any types of changes that take place due to the action research process possibly threaten all formerly established means of doing things, thus creating uncertainties among the practitioners. Architects of action research will apply this principle

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to eliminate others’ fears and invite participation by revealing that they, too, will be subject to the same process and will share both the positive and negative learning outcomes. Plural structure: The phenomenon of the research represents a diversity of views, explanations, and critiques, leading to numerous possible actions and clarifications. This plural structure of inquiry requires a plural text for reporting. A report in this regard, therefore, acts as a support for ongoing discussion among collaborators, rather than a conclusion of fact. Theory, Practice, Transformation: Theory plays a crucial role for actions researchers. Theory informs practice and practice refines theory, in a constantly changing process. In any setting, people’s actions are based on subtly held assumptions, theories, and hypotheses, and with every perceived result, theoretical knowledge is further enriched. The two are intertwined aspects of a single change process.

Tools Action research is not an individual data collection and generation process but a fairly all-inclusive approach to problem-solving. The social science research paradigm is widely influenced and governed by qualitative research techniques. Action research is not different from it, thus combining various tools and techniques including key informant survey, structured and semi-structured interview, focus group discussion, case studies, personal history and observation, secondary data review, and ranking.

Ethical Consideration Since action research is all about dealing with community problems in a field context by the active involvement of the community, it is therefore very crucial to maintain the confidentiality of the information and data generated through the process. The researcher must ensure and comply with the local (mostly customary rules) and national guidelines and principles while conducting any action research. Winter (1996) summarized the following points to be followed as an ethical safeguard while conducting action research: • Guarantee that all relevant persons, committees, and authorities have been consulted and the working principles are well informed and accepted by all stakeholders. • The progress of the work must be noticeable and open to all for any effective advice or criticism. • Prior consent must be taken before examining or observing documents produced for other purposes.

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• Descriptions of others’ work and points of view must be consulted with those concerned before being published. • Lastly, the researcher must take all necessary measures and responsibilities for maintaining the confidentiality

Role of an Action Researcher The successful implementation of the approach mostly depends on the stakeholders’ involvement in the process. Although the research process is initiated by the external actors at the beginning of the project, other stakeholders including local communities and political leaders all have a substantial role to play for the fruitful completion of the process. The following are some of the major roles an action researcher is expected to play: • • • • • • • • •

A good planner Must have the leadership capacity to run the team Act as a catalyst Should have designing ability A good listener A good facilitator A good observer Capacity to synthesize the whole process Reporting ability to inform the results to a wider community

Application Action research is now applied in varied situations and contexts and is increasingly being regarded as an academically reputable form of research. Community development, educational and information research, agricultural and extension research, forest and other natural resource management strategies widely use the common principles and practices of action research as one of their principal operational approaches. Involving local community, enhancing institutional and individual capacity, and community empowerment are some of the positive outputs of the action research (Colucci-Gray et al., 2013; Grimble & Wellard, 1997; Hillman et al., 2005). Action research can be a particularly suitable method in the following situations: • the problem being investigated is very multifaceted (involving diverse elements and stakeholders); • ambiguity in finding the right place and time of problem-solving (and especially when they lack confidence due to the complexity of the problem); • the landscape involves people with varying perspectives or conflicting objectives, yet the need is for a common vision or negotiated decision-making; • the situation or context is rapidly changing, very dynamic.

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Limitations and Challenges Action research as a problem-solving strategy for community development is getting growing recognition both among the academic and practising quarters. Community engagement under a collaborative arrangement is a proven strength of this approach. Despite having many positive attributes, some common limitations of social science research are also applicable and experienced in the case of action research. The major constraints are summarized by Baskerville and Wood-Harper (1996): One argument against action research is that some of its forms may lack discipline. Such a dilemma may, for example, arise due to the deviation between rigorous action research and liberal action research. The latter is criticized for somewhat lacking in scientific discipline (Baskerville & Wood-Harper, 1996). Another reservation expressed against action research concerns researcher’s biases during the research process that may prejudice the conclusions. Action research is also criticized on two more grounds (Baskerville & WoodHarper, 1996). First, some argue that it is merely ‘consulting masquerading as research’. However, the difference between action research and consulting has been aptly brought home by Gummesson (1988). The second critique is based on the ‘context-bound’ (as distinct from ‘being context-free’) nature of action research. Given this nature, it is argued that it becomes difficult to determine the basis of a particular effect whether due to the specific environment, method, or researcher her (him) self.

Part B: Evidence-Based Research Concept and Connotations Evidence-based research (EbR) and its application in various practices and trades, most notably, in medicine and nursing professions, has become popular since the 1990s. The method essentially focuses on reliable, verifiable and quality-assured research that can be used as ‘evidence’ in making informed and objective professional and/or policy decisions and judgments. Here, the emphasis is on the generation and use of evidence that draws on rigorous scientific research as distinct from and opposed to intuition, tradition, subjective unsubstantiated opinion, or other unsound bases of information. EbR draws on the fundamental principle of academic exploration and research that is generally based on an empirical approach to the production and enhancement of knowledge; such an approach is based on facts and verifiable through analysis of observations and documented and/or grounded experiences. The revival of interest in EbR in the latest surge may be traced back to the early 1990s especially in the broader field of health sciences and associated medical practices. A shift has since been observed from “traditional expert-based practice in

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health and medicine, which is typically informed by experience, towards the view that advancing (clinical) practice is better served by facts on health outcomes as evidence for better care and wellbeing” (University of Notre Dame, 2019).

Hierarchy of Evidence Production of ‘reliable’ and ‘valid’ evidence, needless to say, lies at the core of this method. Reliable data are defined as “the extent to which a data collection tool consistently measures the same attribute that it is designed to measure, or the extent to which the results can be replicated”, while validity connotes “The degree to which a data collection tool accurately measures that which it is intended to measure” (RNAO 2012:144). Evidence is not uniform; these may be diverse and variable in both nature and content. Cope and Wyatt (2003: 337) explains using the example of EbR in health care: Evidence then is ranked according to the strength or rigour of the research studies utilizing an evidence hierarchy. The evidence hierarchy, also known as levels of evidence or grades of recommendations, categorizes the randomized clinical trial (RCT) as the “gold standard,” or the strongest evidence, and non-experimental studies and expert opinions represent the weaker form of evidence to support a practice change.

In the same vein, another example of an evidence-based hierarchy is the following: Ia. Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials; Ib. One randomized controlled trial; IIa. One well-designed controlled study without randomization; IIb. One welldesigned quasi-experimental study; III. Well-designed non-experimental studies (comparative, correlational, other descriptive studies); and IV. Expert committee reports, expert opinions, consensus statements, expert judgement (AHCPR, 1994, cited in Wyatt 337).

Best Practices and the EbR Support EbR is often discussed about the identification, declaration, and use of Best Practices in various professions. The underlying argument here is that sound evidence can and should inform the recommended and ideal actions and behaviour; such evidence originates in research and should serve as the basis of practice. In the context of medicine-nursing, here is a typical elucidation of best practice and its relation to EbR: Best practices are recommendations that may evolve based on ongoing key expert experience … perspective and continued research. They are also known as systematically developed statements of recommended practice in a specific clinical or healthy work environment area, are based on best evidence, and are designed to provide direction to practitioners and managers in their clinical and management decision-making (RNAO 2012: 7)

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Examples of EbR-focused best practice and associated instances, scruples, and guidelines abound in the literature (see, for example, Health Canada (2008) for a health practice case; University of Ottawa (2002) for application of specific data collection method for conducting EbR about patient care; and Zoul et al. (2015) for effective teaching and education).

Steps and the Process The typical process of EbR involves the following inter-related steps: The first step is to formulate queries and research questions that are required and can guide decisions and policies regarding a profession, practice, or intervention. The construction of such questions demands careful thinking as these ought to be well-structured, answerable, and executable. The next step is to explore and identify the best available evidence with which to answer these questions. Such exploration would typically involve desk review, official document survey, an extensive consultation of relevant literature, visiting relevant professional institutions and associational bodies, and so on. The third steps run simultaneously with the above process of exploring the evidence. Here, critical thinking is applied for reviewing and analysing the available evidence. Depending on the specific purpose of the study, several criteria may be considered during such analysis including the validity and reliability of the evidence, potential impact on the targeted audience and associated outcomes (e.g., patients in the case of a medical practice), and suitability of using and applying the evidence in the given practice setting or policy execution environment. At the fourth stage, decisions or policies—to be precise—‘informed’ decisions or policies have to be made. The above evidence, examined by critical thinking and sorted through the rigorous research process, guides the decisions. The process ends with an evaluation of the actual outcome and effectiveness of the decision (derived in following the above steps) and associated action. Here, the argument is every decision and the contexts of application are unique; therefore, each case needs to be evaluated about the peculiarity of the given context and lessons learnt and recorded.

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As an illustration of the above process, a case from the field of medical social work is summarized by Wodarski and Hopson (2011) (see Box 19.1). Box 19.1: An Illustration of the Process of EbR as Applied in Medical Social Work 1. Develop a clear idea and unambiguous understanding about the nature and extent of the core problem; targeted questions need to be carefully formulated to explore the characteristics and extent of such problem. Typically, such queries are developed drawing on the preliminary assessment process that involves initial interactions between the practitioners and the targeted clients. Precise identification of the problem is also important to select a suitable intervention plan and strategy. Participatory interactions and methods may be particularly useful in this phase. 2. Collect and collate appropriate evidence that may help answer the above questions. There are subject-specific sources of information and materials for quarrying the relevant evidence. In medical social work, for example, several online resource platforms are commonly used. One such notable source is the National Registry of Effective Programs and Practices. 3. Meticulous and careful assessment, weighing, and analysis of the evidence gathered through the above process. While looking into the evidence, several considerations are important: its validity, extent of the effect on the outcomes of the clients, and ease and relevance of applicability in the specific context of the practice. 4. Make appropriate use of the above careful analysis of the research to illuminate the process of making decisions at the practice level. Without putting the analysed data and evidence to effective use, the whole exercise becomes somewhat irrelevant. Such analysis may help to decide whether the intervention is pertinent to the client, and workable given the existing research support and the particular values and preferences of the client. 5. Assess the overall efficacy of the intervention scheme in the specific context of the unique clients and the practice settings. It is important to focus on the distinctiveness of the nature and characteristics of the particular client group and the surrounding operational context. Such evaluation must be done in a participatory manner involving the key stakeholders—the client populations, contexts, and clinicians. Source Adapted and abridged from Wodarski and Hopson (2011:2–3)— based on the ideas of Sackett et al. (2000) and Gambrill (2006).

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Conclusions This chapter has explored the concepts, connotations, basic features, process, scope, and application of two popular methods deployed for the investigation into society and human behaviour. These methods are particularly popular among communities of practice. Both the methods have their distinct features and application procedure; they however draw on some fundamental scruples, notably the following: an emphasis on merging the principles and theories of research into practice and thereby producing remarkably relevant research findings especially targeting the clients and practitioners; and generation of hardcore evidence that may illuminate the process of policy and decision-making.

References AHCPR (Agency for Health Care Policy and Research). (1994) Clinical practice guideline: Management of cancer pain (AHCPR Publication No. 94–0592). Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, MD. Baskerville, R. L., & Pries-Heje, J. (1999). Grounded action research: A method for understanding IT in practice. Accounting, Management and Information Technologies, 9(1), 1–23. Baskerville, R. L., & Wood-Harper, A. T. (1996). A critical perspective on action research as a method for information system research. Journal of Information Technology, 11, 235–246. Cochrane-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. (2001). Beyond certainty: Taking an inquiry stance on practice. In A. Lieberman & I. Miller (Eds.), Teachers caught in the action: Professional development that matters (pp. 45–58). Teachers College Press. Colucci-Gray, L., et al. (2013). Evidence-based practice and teacher action research: A reflection on the nature and direction of change. British Educational Research Journal, 31(1), 126–147. Cope, D., & Wyatt, G. (2003). Evidence-based practice and research methodologies: Challenges and implications for the nursing profession. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 7(3), 337–338. https://doi.org/10.1188/03.cjon.337-338 Gambrill. (2006). Outlines the following steps in conducting evidence-based practice, which were originally articulated. In by Sackett et al. (2000). Grimble, R., & Wellard, K. (1997). Stakeholder methodologies in natural resource management: A review of principles, contexts, experiences and opportunities. Agricultural Systems, 55(2), 173–193. Gummesson, E. (1988). Qualitative methods in management research. Chartwell-Bratt Publisher. Health Canada. (2008). Best practices—Treatment and rehabilitation for seniors with substance use problems. Retrieved from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/pubs/adp-apd/treat_senior-trait_ainee/ background-contexte-eng.php Hillman, T., et al. (2005). Multidisciplinary approaches to natural resource management. Hydrobiologia, 552, 99–108. Lambrou, Y. (2001). A typology: participatory research and gender analysis in natural resource management research. CGIAR Working document no. 15. Lau, F. (1997). A review on the use of action research in information system, In A. S. Lee et al. (Eds.), Information systems and qualitative research. Springer Science. Lewin, K. (1946). Action research and minority problems. Journal of Social Issues, 2, 34–46. O’Brien, R. (2001). An overview of the methodological approach of action research. In R. Richardson (Ed.), Theory and practice of action research. Federal University of Paraiba.

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RNAO (Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario). (2012). Toolkit: Implementation of best practice guidelines (2nd edn.). Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario. Sackett, D. L., Straus, S. E., Richardson, W. C., Rosenberg, W., & Haynes, R. M. (2000). Evidencebased medicine: How to practice and teach EBM (2nd ed.). Churchill Livingstone. Susman, G. (1983). Action research: A sociotechnical systems perspective. In G. Morgan (Ed.), Beyond method: Strategies for social research (pp. 95–113). Sage. Trip, D. (2005). Action research –a methodological introduction. Educação e Pesquisa, 31(3), 443–466. Trist, E. (1977). A concept of organizational ecology. Australian Journal of Management, 2(2), 161–175. University of Notre Dame. (2019). ‘Evidence-Based Research’. Retrieved from: https://www.not redame.edu.au/research/research-at-notre-dame/research-development/project-advice/evidencebased-research University of Ottawa. (2002). Check list for data collection, Cochrane effective practice and organisation of care group (EPOC) institute of population health. University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Retrieved from https://epoc.cochrane.org/sites/epoc.cochrane.org/files/public/ uploads/datacollectionchecklist.pdf Winter, R. (1996). Some principles and procedures for the conduct of action research. In O. ZuberSkerritt (Ed.), New directions in action research. Falmer Press. Wodarski J. S., & Hopson L. M. (2011) Research methods for evidence-based practice. Sage Publications, Inc. Zoul, J., Casas, J., & Whitaker, T. (2015). What connected educators do differently. Routledge.

Chapter 20

Participatory Research M. Rezaul Islam

Abstract The main objective of this chapter is to introduce participatory research simplistically so that the readers can understand this research approach easily. First, the chapter provides a brief introduction to participatory research that underlines the boundary and scope of this research. Then, the chapter provides the meanings and some referred definitions. It gives a brief description of how this kind of research differs from action research. The next sections highlight the methods of participatory research and then discuss the fundamental characteristics and principles followed by the stages of this research. The next sections briefly explain the importance of this research followed by the ethics and challenges that should be considered to conduct such kind of research followed by a brief conclusion. Keywords Social research · Qualitative research · Field research · Community participation · Community-based research · Research principles · Research ethics · Research challenges · Participatory research

Introduction Participatory research (PR) is gaining interest to the qualitative researchers for its importance and wide application in sociology, social work, development studies, gender studies, health science, and other branches of social sciences. This kind of research approach has been entailed with some other research methods of qualitative research and developed through practising different development activities/projects at the community level. According to the IDS and British Academy (n.d.), this kind of research encompasses a variety of methodological approaches and techniques who are usually community members, general mass people, or community-based organizations. PR is one of the suitable research methods and frameworks of participatory M. R. Islam (B) Institute of Social Welfare and Research, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] Centre for Family and Child Studies, Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_20

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action research (PAR) that helps researchers to develop a research framework to consider the contextual aspects (Islam, 2020). Still, there is a wide range of variation in the conceptual explanation of this type of research, but there is a consensus that this is a qualitative research approach. PR dowries people as researchers in search of answers to questions come across in daily life (Bergold & Thomas, 2012). PR is complex as it consisted of many other types of research methods. More common characteristics are to observe and participate in community-level actions/activities. Waedsworth (1998) argues that the researcher conducting PR must be aware that research is surely value-driven and that its accomplishment impacts must be calculated. Waedsworth further mentions that the perspective is individual, and it cannot be dissolute with others. It is because involving people, observing a phenomenon, raising questions, making sense, and deciding action are immensely value-driven. This chapter attempts to provide some general descriptions about the meaning, methods, characteristics, principles, stages, ethics, importance, and challenges of PR so that a researcher can follow these as guidelines to conduct such kind of research.

Meanings and Definition of Participatory Research The literature gives an overwhelming hint about PR. Literature shows a wide range of variations in the understanding and meaning of this kind of research. In some cases, the authors argue that PR is not a research method at all. For example, Reason and Bradbury (2008) argue that by participatory methodology we mean a research chic, an alignment to inquiry. On the other hand, Bergold (2007) argues that the accord and validation of PR are to be instituted not so much on the level of tangible research methods, rather, PR can be viewed as a methodology that opposes in favour of the leeway, the consequence, and the practicality of relating research cohorts in the knowledge-production process. Bergold and Thomas (2012) mention that PR is not primarily different from other pragmatic social research processes. Quite the reverse, there are plentiful associations, particularly to qualitative methodologies and methods. Some common synonyms such as action research, applied research, participatory action research (PAR), participatory observation, community-based research, and community-based participatory research are frequently used in the literature. Some referred definitions: • “Participatory research is the process of producing new knowledge by “systematic inquiry, with the collaboration of those affected by the issue being studied, for education and taking action or effecting social change” (Green et al. 1995). • “Participatory research attempts to negotiate a balance between developing valid generalisable knowledge and benefiting the community that is being researched and to improve research protocols by incorporating the knowledge and expertise of community members. For many types of research in specific communities,

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these goals can best be met by the community and researcher collaborating in the research as equals” (Macaulay et al., 1999). “Action research is a participatory process concerned with developing practical knowing in the pursuit of worthwhile human purposes. It seeks to bring together action and reflection, theory and practice, in participation with others, in the pursuit of practical solutions to issues of pressing concern to people, and more generally the flourishing of individual persons and their communities” (Bradbury, 2015). “A disciplined process of inquiry conducted by and for those taking the action. The primary reason for engaging in action research is to assist the ‘actor’ in improving and/or refining his or her actions” (Sagor, 2000). “In simplest terms, community-based participatory research (for convenience, we’ll primarily call it CBPR for the rest of this section) enlists those who are most affected by a community issue – typically in collaboration or partnership with others who have research skills – to conduct research on and analyze that issue, to devise strategies to resolve it. In other words, community-based participatory research adds to or replaces academic and other professional research with research done by community members, so that research results both come from and go directly back to the people who need them most and can make the best use of them” (COMMUNITYTOOLBOX n.d.). “Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an approach to research that involves collective, reflective and systematic inquiry in which researchers and community stakeholders engage as equal partners in all steps of the research process with the goals of educating, improving practice or bringing about social change. This research approach is recognized as particularly useful when working with populations that experience marginalization – as is the case for some Indigenous communities—because it supports the establishment of respectful relationships with these groups, and the sharing of control over individual and group health and social conditions” (Tremblay et al., 2018). “Participatory Community Research addresses the gap between scientific knowledge and the practice of community-based research methods. Unlike the traditional approaches to research in which researchers generate the ideas for projects, define the methods, and interpret the outcomes, the approaches of participatory research empower community populations to shape the research agenda. Their participation often results in generating greater sociopolitical awareness and affecting large systemic change in the community” (Jason et al., 2004).

Participatory Research and Action Research The literature of social research or the qualitative research does not make clear the distinguishes between participatory research (PR), or action research (AR), rather most of the pieces of literature try to give understanding both types of research are the

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same or very close meanings or different authors use these differently but they are the same. Kemmis (2005) mentions that plentiful conversation constituents, in which the PR cohorts are theorized in different ways, converge in the action research paradigm. The strong position to PR is replicated in the labelling of various action research approaches, for example, participatory action research. Some other meanings are also mentioned by some authors such as co-operative inquiry (Heron, 1996); and participatory rural appraisal (PRA), participatory learning and action (PLA), and participatory learning research (overview in Chambers, 2008). Some authors try to find some differences between these two types of research approaches. For example, Bell et al. (2004) state that there are plentiful opinions of junction between AR and PR, and we have faith in ascertaining differences between these two approaches. Reason and Bradbury (2008) argue that within the discussion on AR, there is a robust effort that labels itself with snowballing self-confidence as ‘participative inquiry and practice’. Kemmis (2005) mentions that many arguments among the PR partners raise in diverse ways, congregate in the AR paradigm. PR is also replicated in the labelling of many AR approaches, for example, participatory action research (PAR). Bergold and Thomas (2012) found the relationship between these two types of approaches from its aim. They said that the common purpose of these approaches is to change the social reality based on perceptions into everyday practices that are gained through PR which is said to be collaborative research (CR) by scientists, practitioners, service users, etc. Kemmis (2005) wants to see both approaches as a combination/collaboration of practice change and collaborative research that they called: participatory action research (PAR) that is possible and makes good sense. They further noted that not all thinkers of AR put this accent on collaboration. PR, especially, swings the prominence from action and change to CR activities.

Methods Used in Participatory Research According to the IDS and British Academy (n.d.), PR used a range of techniques. These included focus groups and multistakeholder meetings, participatory inquiry, action research, oral testimonies and story collection as a foundation for collective analysis, photo-digital stories, photovoice, drawing and essay writing competitions, participatory video, theatre for development, reality check approach, and immersions. On the other hand, Organizing Engagement (n.d) provides the following list (Box 20.1) about different methods used in PR.

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Box 20.1: Methods of PR • Interview: Usually a structured interview held one-on-one individuals using a typical protocol and questionnaire. • Focus group discussions (FGDs): Aided by small-group or focus-group discussions with the participants (in some cases, PAR comprises representatives of a single participant group, such as students, and in other cases, the participants are nominated from various groups). • Dialogue: Expedited dialogues or community forums with bigger groups of participants where feelings, thoughts, or recommendations are recorded. • Social survey: Social surveys, particularly surveys with undecided replies that permit respondents to utter their belvederes or surveys that are designed, instigated, and examined by members of surveyed groups. • Observation: These include related activities such as doctor-child patient or doctor-parent interactions using a homogenous observation process. This method ascertains and record—sometimes using illustrations, diagrams, or maps such as hospital, nursing home, community, or organizational problems, resources, or cultural dynamics. • Documentation review: These include institution reports, policies, parent or child health guideline, news coverage, or participant stories. • Historical method: These include old photo, video, or audio documentaries and oral histories created by the older citizens. • Ethnographic method: These are the combinations of the above methods and tools usually to look the relationship between culture and development of a community. Source Developed by author based on Organizing Engagement (n.d)

Characteristics Participatory Research PR is a distinct and different form from other types of research approaches. This is comprehensive, inclusive, and complex as it combines many other types of research. This kind of research includes many aspects, and the arrangement, principles, data collection methods, and ethical aspects are far different from others. It is because: • PR is obsessed by participants, rather than an external promoter, funder or academic. • PR offers a participatory model that is used in a community based on their local/traditional knowledge. The local people are the maters of this kind of research approach.

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• PR is combined at every stage of the data collection procedure that includes open discussion. This approach attempts to use peoples’ existing knowledge, resources, and capacities. • PR attempts to explore some experiences that are generated through community action, its change, or improvement on the issue being researched. According to Encyclopedia.com (n.d.), PR can be identified by five characteristics: • Community participation by the people is the central point for such kind of study. • Inclusion of indigenous/traditional knowledge gained from the local community that are observed and documented either orally or written. • A focus on power and empowerment is another feature of PR. • Mass peoples’ awareness and social learning/education of the participants. • Political action. According to Barndt (1980) and Luttrell (1988), • PR corroborates common knowledge, personal experience and feelings, and creative and spiritual expressions as useful ways of knowing. • This kind of method attempts to value the opinions and knowledge of the community mass people and researchers should be very sensitive and accurate to follow this ethical guideline. • This is a rational assumption of such kind of research that local people are much aware and they have better knowledge and understanding about their own problems than the outsiders. However, this principle should be strictly followed during conducting such kind of research. • PR uses a variety of data collections tools and techniques such as group discussions, old people’s memories, oral evidence, photography, theatre, and traditional tales. Biggs (1988) found four types of characteristics of PR in the field of agriculture that he called the four modes of participation: • Contractual: Here, community local people are contracted into the research projects to take part in their investigation. • Consuhatire: Here, people are enquired for their opinions and accessed by researchers before interpolations are made. • Collaboratire: Here, researchers and local people work together on projects designed, initiated and management. • Collegiate: Here, investigators and local people work together as colleagues using their diverse skills and techniques. This is called a collaborative research where intercultural exchanges are shared through mutual learning. In this case, the local people have control over the process.

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Fundamental Principles of Participatory Research Some core rules must be considered to conduct this kind of study. One of the main aspects is who are the people going to participate in this study. It is not like to take an interview between interview and interviewer through consent that usually does in traditional research form rather this kind of research includes diverse stakeholders. These include: • Local people or local participants are mostly exaggerated by the problem or intervention under study. • Local people who are not directly targeted for this study but they are observers and have long experience about the particular issue can be considered as participants who can provide some critical understanding about the issues undead in the study. • Local people are the decision-makers. • Usually, the researchers can be any interested person who wants to justify or examine the outcomes of a particular intervention. • A diverse people can be participants for this kind of study that include health, human service, and public agency staff and volunteers. • Community members at large. Organizing Engagement (n.d) mentions seven distinct and core principles of PR (Box 20.2).

Box 20.2: Principles of PR • • • •

PR includes stakeholders in most or all aspects of the process. PR is conducted with participants, not on participants. PR is “transformative rather than merely informative”. PR is often conducted in cycles (observation, reflection, action, evaluation, and modification). • PR allows participants by edifice their knowledge, skills, confidence, or agency. • PR considers that impeccable impartiality and objectivity do not exist in social contexts. • PR challenges traditional hierarchies and power dynamics. Source Developed by author based on Organizing Engagement (n.d) Bergold and Thomas (2012) consider five principles from a broad perspective of the community, nature of ownership of the community, and level of participation and provided detailed explanations of these principles to be followed while conducting PR (Box 20.3). On the other hand, Gerald Susman’s PAR model is widely used in the research literature (Fig. 20.1). The principles including reflective critiques, dialectical critique, collaborative resources, risk, plural structure and theory practice,

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Fig. 20.1 Gerald Susman’s PAR model. Source Susman (1983)

and transformation are the centre of the PAR cycle that runs through action planning, taking action, evaluation, specifying learning, and final diagnosis. These principles are useful to form and fortify communities and systems through the all-encompassing nature of dialogue and activities made at various levels of the study.

Box 20.3: Principles of PR Democracy as a pre-condition for PR

• PR entails a participatory model which is called a democratic approach within the social and political context • Active participation of the underprivileged groups. It depends on the social alignment with political commitment (continued)

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(continued) The need for a “safe space”

• All sorts of fears and social inhabitants should be cleared to conduct this kind of research • A fully secured ‘safe space’ is a prerequisite for this method where the local participants can express their feelings and voices without any confusion. The environment will be local people friendly and the space will be free from all sorts of noise and social barriers

Communicative space

• Space will be free from all sorts of threats and domination and it should be considered a ‘communicative space’ where the participants own this space and they can come to exchange their views and problems through intercultural exchange. It will be fully participatory and congenial • The local participants as well as the investigators feel the space in such a way so that everybody distinguishes three phases such as inclusion phase, control phase, and intimacy phase

Who participates? How is “the community” defined?

• It is well established that neither the investigators nor the partisans are not well educated. However, space will allow all of them to participate in such an informal way so that a good discussion will be facilitated among them to participate in this study • PR is generally considered the community which is directly affected by different local/social problems such as disaster-affected community, or tidally inundated community or any health problem, i.e., COVID pandemic. The important thing is that the investigators will deliver such kind of dialogue (usually informal) so that the affected people can express their level of understanding about the particular problem they affected, they can participate such a way so that there raises clear understanding about the nature and causes of the problem, local capacity, and resources. This community will see their capacities and resources as well as their limitation so that they can comprehend their understanding, and the community can get a slight chance to eloquent, validate, and proclaim their benefits (continued)

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(continued) Different degrees of participation

• PR follows the ladder model that allows the community people to take control over research decisions. This process promotes the local people to be involved in decisions-making process throughout the study period (planning/designing, implementation, and evaluation). This model suggests the existence of a continuum, and thereby shape elementary changes

Source Developed by the author based on Bergold and Thomas (2012)

Stages of Participatory Research It is mentioned earlier that PR is a comprehensive and complex research in nature. However, some stages are not to be followed to conduct this kind of research. It saves time and resources and helps to take more sequential activities. The process promotes conducting structured and organized research within a limited schedule. Krishnaswamy (2004) mentions five important stages (Box 20.4) as clarifying the purpose of research, identifying and involving diverse stakeholders, building trust, building common understanding, and identifying the research questions. Box 20.4 provides clarification of these principles.

Box 20.4: Stages of PR Stage 1: Clarify the purpose of the research

• To set broader goals of the research project among the research partners (researchers and community members)

Stage 2: Identifying and involving diverse stakeholders in the research

• To identify the stakeholders (generally any person, group, or institution affected by the research) and enable their participation • To participate the stakeholders from all levels in different phases such as planning/designing, implementation, and using the research • To build relationships between diverse groups, and between these groups and researchers • To improve the capacity of diverse participants to facilitate their interests in wider social and political arenas and to resolve conflicts (continued)

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(continued) Stage 3: Building Trust

• To build trust earlier developing a research question

Stage 4: Building common understanding

• To build a common understanding through a set of agreed expectations so that they can remain devoted to the research process • To facilitate such an environment and space so that participants feel such a commonality to participate and use all sorts of capacities and resources fully • To locate some powerful participants during developing activities, information, language, and approaches are developed

Stage 5: Identify the research questions

• To develop the research questions to conduct the study. The nature and pattern of the questions will be easy, simple, well understandable, and provocative through a common understanding • To include such questions that can lead properly to assess the community problems, their capacity, and involvement in the problem-solving process

Source Developed by the author based on Krishnaswamy (2004) The Advancement Project—Healthy City (2011) formulated the steps of the PR method with five headings such as step 1: project design and implementation (identify a research topic, questions, goal, and geographic focus); step 2: partner engagement (identify research partners and invite them to collaborate); step 3: data collection (choose and implement the research and data collection methodology); step 4: data analysis (analyse the results); and step 5: reporting (report the results) where documentation, communication, and evaluation process will be followed throughout conducting PR (Fig. 20.2). The Children Emergencies (n.d.) designed a clear understanding (Fig. 20.3) about the steps of PR to provide information on skills and approaches needed for successfully engaging children and communities. These include three steps such as behaviour and attitudes (that should be self-critical, allowing community members to take the lead, flexible and informal, respecting local knowledge); methods (visual and available for everyone to take part in, multidisciplinary team, many sources of information to get a bigger picture); and finally sharing information between community members, and with and by the facilitators.

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Project design & implementation Identify research topic, questions, goal & geographic focus

Step 1

Partner engagement Identify research partners & invite them to collaborate

Step 2

Data collection Choose & implement the research & data collection methodology

Step 3

Data analysis

Analyze the results

Step 4

Reporting

Report the results

Step 5

Documentation, communication & evaluation throughout process

Fig. 20.2 Steps of PR. Source Developed by author based on Advancement Project—Healthy City (2011)

Fig. 20.3 Steps of participatory research. Source Developed by author based on ChildrenEmergencies (n.d.)

Ethics in Participatory Research In general, research ethics are the moralities and guidelines that escort how the researchers and participants should be treated during the data collection process. The ethical matter is very crucial in qualitative research particularly while using the PR method in the community. This is also true that in many cases all of the ethical guidelines are difficult to follow at the community level but this is important to be sensitive to the participants involved in the research (Advancement Project— Healthy City 2011). It is particularly important for such kind of research as this has a familiarity to the research cohorts during where requires ethically sound decisions among the participants. There are some other sensitive areas such as gaining easier access to groups, data collection procedure, documented, and inferred data so that they do not harm the participants, and their confidentiality; the danger of misuse and the reliability, and availability of the professional researchers, etc. PR needs to facilitate access and reach to a deeper understanding of the cultures and minimize

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social taboos and social layers what the community people perceive in their minds and the life-world. Unger (2012) argues that in many cases some of the practices of the community people may hurt or break their mistrusts can eliminate their participation. Sometimes, it is very contextual and related to their values and norms. This can be different from one community to another community or one type of participant from another type of participant. In all cases, every ethical point must be taken into consideration (Wohrer & Hocher, 2012). Wadsworth (1998) mentioned that PR must be assessed through the following action effects: • • • • •

Raising some questions and not others. Involving some people in the process … and not others. Observing some phenomena and not others. Making this sense of it and not alternative senses. Deciding to take this action … rather than any other action.

The Advancement Project—Healthy City (2011) has provided some clear and well-structured ethical guidelines of PR with detailed explanations (Table 20.1).

Importance of Participatory Research In the qualitative research approach, the PR method is considered one of the popular and frequently used research approaches. Due to its comprehensive and inclusiveness, this research method get immense popularity among social researchers, policymakers, development and health practitioners, and other social scientists. Cornwall and Jewkes (1995) state that PR methods facilitate not only people’s ability to participate based on their urgencies but also emphasize resource mobilization, people’s ability/capacity and encourage them to solve their problems through this research process through a top-down process. The whole process accelerates the transformation of power structures and relationships as well as the empowerment of oppressed people (Maguire, 1987). This section cited three important statements from two different sources as Bergold and Thomas (2012) (Box 20.5) and COMMUNITYTOOLBOX (n.d) (Box 20.6). All of these sources are similar with some differences about the importance of PR. All mentioned that PR methods geared local level planning, local engagement, to solve local problems where community members are the key to assess and solve their local problems. This method promotes community empowerment through a better understanding of the local peoples’ involvement throughout the process. This method brings interesting and valuable case studies that experience severe problems with high-quality collaborations, interventions, and prevention projects.

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Table 20.1 Ethical components of PR Ethical components

Explanation

Accessibility of findings

Are the findings presented in ways that community members can understand, access, or find meaningful?

Benefits to the participants

How will you ensure that the participants in the community are not harmed during the research and gain as much benefit as possible through their participation?

Community voice

Who is the community? Who represents the community? Who speaks for the community? Do participants come from only some of the areas you are working in? Do they represent only some of the social identities in the community overall? Are there institutional, organizational or other social dynamics that privilege some voices over others? Will some portions of the community benefit more than others as a result?

Credit

How are the results represented? Whose voice(s) are heard and represented? Who receives credit for the work conducted?

Data ownership

Once the data has been collected, who owns it? Where is it stored? How will you responsibly make the data available to the different community and other stakeholders?

Division of labour

How does equity translate into divisions of labour on the project/process? Is the work divided equitably among partners?

Justice

Do all members of the community have equal opportunity to participate in the research? Are there some participants who are unfairly impacted by the research?

Privacy

Will it do any harm to the community or individuals to report the findings? How can you protect privacy in the data collection and sharing process? Did you get adequate permission from participants or those that represent them (for example, parents/guardians of minors)? Do they understand and agree with the way you plan to use the data/information? (continued)

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Table 20.1 (continued) Ethical components

Explanation

Representation of local communities

Does the presentation (or presenter) of findings in any way reinforce negative social stereotypes in presenting communities? Be mindful and transparent about how representative the findings may or may not be of the community based on participation

Respect

How do you maintain respect for a person’s ability to engage or not engage in the research without coercion or force?

Rigor of research and fidelity to findings

Are the findings being presented accurately? Are they presented with any bias or in a way to make people hear what they want to hear?

Source Developed by author based on Advancement Project—Healthy City (2011)

Box 20.5: Importance of PR PR methods are rigorously used to discover the interface of science and practice of the people whose life-world and eloquent activities are under investigation. The main objective of this kind of research is unfold and explore the living experience of the local people and their everyday practices. It is always applied the tools and techniques such as observation, interview, and group discussion. This emphasizes field visit and discovers the composition of livings and livelihoods of the local people. This method is rich in terms of its participatory process that ensures local peoples’ full participation, decision making, and empowerment process. This investigation captures the everyday challenges and struggles that the people are facing and living with. It discovers the complex relationships of human beings where they live with diverse interactions such as admittance of participation, human relationships, power relations, and other determinants factors within the living condition. This method is a powerful tool that enables both participants and researchers about the tools that they use for such investigation through mutual understanding and agreement. It promotes to be familiar with the local community, living entities, local peoples’ feelings, and the ways they want to assess the problems and suggest to solve those. This method helps to increase local peoples’ capacities, local level resource mobilization, and their management strategies and skills.

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Box 20.6: Importance of PR • PR is one of the best tools to get real and contextual information about the people and their problems. • PR facilitates to community engagement and provides better, complete and accurate information about the community and its problem. • PR facilitates community people in more democratic and participatory approach to understand their needs. • PR enables people to seek their own resources within their community through engaging their efforts and all sorts of capitals. • PR provides a better understanding about their needs and encourages them to sole these. • PR improves the capacity and skills of the local people and secure their participation in planning and implementation this. • PR helps to changes people’s perceptions and motivate them towards social harmony. • PR helps to break down all sorts of social barriers such as racial, ethnic, and class barriers. • PR helps people better understand the forces that influence their lives. • PR supports to move communities toward positive social change. Source Developed by author based on CMMUNITYTOOLBOX (n.d.)

Challenges of Participatory Research Due to its comprehensive pattern, PR conceives many challenges, weaknesses, threats, and limitations in line with its wide importance and advantages. PR considers local participation and indigenous/local knowledge/strategies within local contexts and cultures. However, this method requires to fit its tools and techniques within the local spectrum which are sometimes complex and many cross-cutting issues need to be addressed. Hasan (2017) developed the PR methods (for detail, see Fig. 20.4) by mentioning its objectives and serves whom and shows that it address complex social problems in the local community. Organizing Engagement (n.d.) listed some main challenges of PR (Box 20.7) that include more time, funding, staffing, low human capacity and training, powerrelation, coordination, cultural biases, manipulation, benefits, psychological aspects, etc.

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Fig. 20.4 Objectives for participatory research methods in addressing complex problems, and the actor groups who are served by them. Source Hasan (2017

Box 20.7: Challenges of PR • PR requires more time, funding, or manpower that is bit expensive than method. • PR needs to larger groups of people, needs more preparation, outreach, coordination, and relationship-building. In community setting, these may be challenging to meet these requirements. • PR may generate a large amount of data and documentation that sometimes difficult for data management, data analysis, and interpretation. • PR process may require training by the specialized skilled experts to the local participants that may be harder. • PR uses local institutions and communities, they may not have the experience, capacity, or training to participate and conduct this study. • PR is committed to secure authentically democratic, collaborative, inclusive, equitable, and non-hierarchical that may not be possible in practical situation. • PR attempts to demolish local power structure through using research ethics, but it is difficult follow all these ethical guideline. • PR considers diversity in terms to include local leaders, coordinators, and facilitators to go through intercultural dialogues which is inclusive and cross-cultural sensitive. It is seen that in many cases such coordination and

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inclusiveness may not be secured in the local context where power-relation exists. Cultural biases may directly or indirectly impacts the design and execution process in PR in ways that are discriminatory or exclusionary. Sometimes, the participants may not such kind of concreate and critical knowledge about these social complexity to legitimize this. PR sometimes can be manipulated by the authorities of local power structure. In this case, PR may be difficult to incorporate social agenda where people may not be cooperative to participate in this research process. In many cases, PR fails to manipulate the people who are part of local power structure and power-relation. They may feel this process as a threat as this can empower the powerless people. In this case, PR sometimes create hindrance, annoyance, or antipathy among participants, particularly if they are led to believe their opinions will be perceived and acted on, but leaders with power and authority drop to implement the community ideas or blessings that result from the process. In general, as method PR is complex in nature that requires to consider many things at a time where participants feel this hard and difficult to participate. Source Developed by author based on Organizing Engagement (n.d.)

Conclusions PR is an important tool/method for qualitative research. There are many advantages to using this research tool in terms of its comprehensive nature and the possibility to use multiple data collection methods. This chapter briefly illustrated the characteristics, principles, stages, importance, and challenges of this research method. To consider its overall scope, we understand that PR can be framed as ‘researching with people’ instead of ‘doing research and development work for people’. Although this chapter included many blurred aspects such as lack of concrete definition of PR and invisibility of the differences between PR and action research and its wide level of challenges, we find this as a combined approach that includes all participants throughout the research process, from establishing the research needs, preparing research questions and developing data collection tools, to analysis and dissemination of findings. It purposes to address the everyday distresses of community people, and primarily vagaries the roles of the investigator and who is being researched. It is because the PR framework instigates with a community’s issue, proposed action, or strategy, and then supports or increases local community-based engagement (Baum et al., 2006).

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Cornwall and Jewkes (1995) illustrated some important aspects between PR and conventional research approaches. They showed many strong arguments that clearly show their strengths as an important research tool (Table 20.2). These start with several questions such as what is the research for, who is the Research for, whose knowledge counts, topics choice influenced by and methodology chosen for followed by many important aspects under who takes part in the stage of the research process. The most important aspect of this method is ‘local’ that conjuncts and instigates many other local aspects. All of these clearly distinguish this research from other types of research. This is more important than the above-mentioned tools, and techniques of PR are not universal rather that those are the general guidelines of PR. PR tools and techniques almost depend on the particular socioeconomic conditions, places (country or region or location), cultures, and context. However, the use of these tools and techniques of PR may vary from country to country, location to location, and context to context and cultures as well. Table 20.2 PR and conventional research: a comparison of process PR

Conventional research

What is the research for?

Action

Understanding with perhaps action later

Who is the research for?

Local people

Institutional, personal and professional interests

Whose knowledge counts?

Local people’s

Scientists’

Topic choice influenced by?

Local priorities

Funding priorities, institutional agendas, professional interests

Methodology chosen for?

Empowering, mutual learning

Disciplinary conventions, ‘objectivity’ and ‘truth’

Who takes part in the stage of research process? Problem identification

Local people

Researcher

Data collection

Local people

Researcher, consumer

Interpretation

Local concepts and frameworks

Disciplinary concepts and framework

Analysis

Local people

Researcher

Presentation of findings

Locally accessible and useful By researcher to other academics of funding body

Action on findings

Integral to the process

Separate and may not happen

Who takes action

Local people, with/without external support

External agencies

Who owns the results?

Shared

The researcher

What is emphasized?

Process

Outcomes

Source Adapted from Cornwall and Jewkes (1995)

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References Advancement Project—Healthy City. (2011). A short guide to community based participatory action research. https://www.labor.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/A-Short-Guideto-Community-Based-Participatory-Action-Research.pdf Barndt, D. (1980). Education and social change: A photographic study of Peru. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. Baum, F., MacDougall, C., & Smith, D. (2006). Participatory action research. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 60(10), 854. Bell, J., Clisby, S., Craig, G., Measor, L., Petrie, S., & Stanley, N. (2004). Living on the edge: Sexual behaviour and young parenthood in rural and seaside areas. University of Hull. Bergold, J. (2007). Participatory strategies in community psychology research—a short survey. In A. Bokszczanin (Ed.), Poland welcomes community psychology: Proceedings from the 6th European conference on community psychology (pp. 57–66). Opole University Press. Bergold, J., & Thomas, S. (2012). Participatory research methods: A methodological approach in motion. Historical Social Research/historische Sozialforschung, 13(1), 191–222. Biggs, S. (1988). Resource-poor farmer participation in research: A synthesis of experiences from nine national agricultural research systems. OFCOR Comparata’e Stud)” Paper 3. International Service for National Agricultural Research. The Hague. Bradbury, H. (Ed.). (2015). The Sage handbook of action research. Sage. ChildrenEmergencies. (n.d.). Introduction to participatory research. https://childreninemergencies. org/2016/08/16/introduction-to-participatory-research/ COMMUNITYTOOLBOX (n.d.). Community-based participatory research. In Learn a skill. https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/evaluate/evaluation/intervention-research/main Cornwall, A., & Jewkes, R. (1995). What is participatory research? Social Science & Medicine, 41(12), 1667–1676. Encyclopedia.com. (n.d.). Participatory research. https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/ encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/participatory-research#:~:text=Participatory% 20research%20integrates%20scientific%20investigation,members%2C%20and%20to%20d emocratize%20research Green, L. W., Royal Society of Canada, & BC Consortium for Health Promotion Research. (1995). Study of participatory research in health promotion: Review and recommendations for the development of participatory research in health promotion in Canada. Royal Society of Canada. Hasan, M. N. (2017). Barriers and challenges to environmentally friendly manufacturing in developing countries: The views of a young tannery owner in Bangladesh. https://www.researchgate. net/project/Small-Business-Sustainability/figures IDS and British Academy. (n.d.). Participatory research methods. https://participatesdgs.org/met hods/ Islam, M. R. (2020). Methods and framework of participatory action research for community development in Bangladesh. In Phillips, R., Trevan, E., & Kraeger, P. (Eds.), Research handbook on community development. Edward Elgar Publishing. Jason, L. A., Keys, C. B., Suarez-Balcazar, Y. E., Taylor, R. R., & Davis, M. I. (2004). Participatory community research: Theories and methods in action. American Psychological Association. Kemmis, S. M. (2005). Participatory action research: Communicative action and the public sphere. In N. denzin, Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 559–604). Krishnaswamy, A. (2004). Participatory research: Strategies and tools. Practitioner: Newsletter of the National Network of Forest Practitioners, 22, 17–22 Luttrell, W. (1988). Claiming what is ours an economic experience workbook. Economic Education Project, Highlander Research and Education Centre. Macaulay, A. C., Commanda, L. E., Freeman, W. L., Gibson, N., McCabe, M. L., Robbins, C. M., & Twohig, P. L. (1999). Participatory research maximises community and lay involvement. BMJ, 319(7212), 774–778.

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Maguire, P. (1987). Doing participatory research: A feminist approach. Center for International Education, School of Education, University of Massachusetts. Organizing Engagement (n.d). Participatory action research and evaluation. https://organizingen gagement.org/models/participatory-action-research-and-evaluation/ Reason, P., & Bradbury, H. (Eds.). (2008). The Sage handbook of action research: Participative inquiry and practice (2nd ed.). Sage. Sagor, R. (2000). Guiding school improvement with action research: ASCD. Ascd. Susman, G. (1983). Action research: A sociotechnical systems perspective. G. Mor (Ed.). SAGE Publications. Tremblay, M. C., Martin, D. H., McComber, A. M., McGregor, A., & Macaulay, A. C. (2018). Understanding community-based participatory research through a social movement framework: A case study of the Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Project. BMC Public Health, 18(1), 487. Wadsworth, Y. (1998). What is participatory action research? Action Research International. Paper 2. https://www.scu.edu/schools/gem/ar/ari/p-ywadsworth98.html. (Published online first Nov 1998). Wöhrer, V., & Höcher, B. (2012). Tricks of the trade—Negotiations and dealings between researchers, teachers and students. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 13(1), Article 16. Heron, J. (1996). Co-operative inquiry: Research into the human condition, London: Sage. Chambers, R. (2008). PRA, PLA and pluralism: Practice and theory. The Sage handbook of action research. Participative inquiry and practice, 2, 297–318 Unger, H. V. (2012). Participatory health research: who participates in what?. In Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research, (Vol. 13, No. 1).

Chapter 21

Case Study R. M. Channaveer and Rajendra Baikady

Abstract This chapter reviews the strengths and limitations of case study as a research method in social sciences. It provides an account of an evidence base to justify why a case study is best suitable for some research questions and why not for some other research questions. Case study designing around the research context, defining the structure and modality, conducting the study, collecting the data through triangulation mode, analysing the data, and interpreting the data and theory building at the end give a holistic view of it. In addition, the chapter also focuses on the types of case study and when and where to use case study as a research method in social science research. Keywords Qualitative research approach · Case study · Social work research

Introduction Case study research scientifically investigates into a real-life phenomenon and attempts in-depth contextual analysis (Ridder, 2017); Sadeghi Moghadam et al., 2021. In social science research, “case study is used to study, explore, and understand complex issues. The method can be considered a robust research method particularly when a holistic, in-depth investigation is required”. “Case study as a research method is the best choice when researching the issues in education (Gülseçen & Kubat, 2006), sociology (Grässel & Schirmer, 2006) and community-based problems (Johnson, 2006) such as poverty, unemployment, drug addiction, illiteracy etc.”. In the present context, because of the merit of case study to study social phenomena, it is becoming popular as a research method in qualitative research. A case study is widely applied in interpersonal communication and marketing communication research (Suryani, 2013). “Case study as a research method enables the researcher R. M. Channaveer (B) Department of Social Work, Central University of Karnataka, Kadaganchi, India e-mail: [email protected] R. Baikady Department of Social Work, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_21

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to investigate important topics not easily covered by other methods” (Yin, 2004). However, the common perception among the researchers is that case study as a method of research focuses only on exploratory and descriptive phases of research, while other research methods such as surveys and secondary data analysis focus on programme evaluation and explanatory phase. (Yin, 2003) argued that “case study method may also involve many roles such as exploratory, descriptive, evaluation, and hypothesis testing”.

Meanings and Definitions The terms “case study”, “case review”, and “case report” are used interchangeably in the social science circle. The key features of a “case study” are its scientific credentials and its evidence base for professional applications. A “case review” emphasizes a critical assessment of a case. A “case report” refers to a summary of a case or the document reporting a case, as in case law or medicine. Case studies in social work have significant role to create knowledge and bridge research and practice (Greenwood & Lowenthal, 2005). Case study as an approach explore multifaceted issues like poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and other social, economic, personal, physical, and environmental problems (Crowe et al., 2011). Generally, case study is a detailed description of a person, group, organization, community or any kind of situation, and report of a real-life situation. It may be called an in-depth or intensive analysis of an individual as a unit of study. We can also conduct a case study in research on a particular event, situation, issue, problem, individual, group, organization, and community. Yin (1994) postulates that case study focuses an actual situation, such as the current state of social problems, issues and challenges; and the operational factors influencing them. Disciplines like management, economics, sociology, and social work which conduct surveys effectively use case study to authenticate and support the results of large-scale studies. Correspondingly, the strategic remedies for the effective functioning of the organization are also reflected upon through consistent evaluation. Thus, a case study has backward and forward connectivity and linkages to bring desirable change in the existing condition.

Definitions The definitions of case study evolved over a period of time. Case study is defined as “a systematic inquiry into an event or a set of related events which aims to describe and explain the phenomenon of interest” (Bromley, 1990). Stoecker defined a case study as an “intensive research in which interpretations are given based on observable concrete interconnections between actual properties and people within an actual concrete setting” (Stoecker, 1991).

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There have been consistent efforts made to redefine case study for better understanding. The definitions developed later in the twentieth century focused more on the process, methods, and purpose of the case study. According to Gomm et al. (2000) “case study refers to research that investigates a few cases in considerable depth”. Stake (2010) defined case study as more of what is to be studied and not so much of a methodological choice. Gomm et al. (2000), while defining a case study argued that “a case study implies a collection of unstructured data and qualitative analysis of data”. A recent definition by Yin (2003) focused on examining the relevance of the case study as a research method. He defined case study research as “an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not evident” (Yin, 2003). However, Stake (2010) defined case study as “both the process of learning about the case and product of learning”. The definitions are evident that in all probability, case study is based on learning or exploring new aspects of phenomena, event, individual, group, organization and community, or any other issues through in-depth study or analysis.

Conceptual Bases of Case Study It is inevitable for a case study researcher to exhibit philosophical position, present methodological understanding, hold ability for theoretical application, demonstrate an ability to link paradigms and perspectives to social, economic, behavioural, and environmental phenomena, and possess competence to bring desired change through intervention. The insightful understanding of reality is very essential; which is external or independent of research in some way and also a mental construction of people in many ways. The context holds importance to perceive the reality. Thus, knowledge is a representation of mental construction in a context. Rashid et al. (2019) states that interpretive reality rather than objective reality forms the base of epistemological position of the case study researcher. Researchers consider case study as a methodology, method, approach, and design of research. Methodology guides research view-point towards a phenomenon under study. “Qualitative paradigms broadly emphasize and include exploratory, explanatory, interpretive, or descriptive purposes. The paradigms include narrative research, phenomenology, grounded theory, and ethnography” (Hamera et al., 2011). Case study researchers postulate qualitative paradigms and quantitative paradigms. There are researchers who advocate the essence of quantitative research as well as qualitative research (Mills et al., 2009). Some scholars advocate hybrid approach of combining both the research paradigms for better understanding of a phenomenon (Ochieng, 2009). As far as the perspectives of research is concerned, “quantitative or positivist perspective believes in single reality, while qualitative or interpretive perspective believes in multiple realities” (Bhatta, 2018). Case studies generally follow the qualitative research methodology.

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Therefore, “the principal goal of case study research is to conduct an in-depth analysis of an issue within its context and present understanding of the phenomenon from the perspective of participants” (Harrison et al., 2017). Thus, the paradigms guide both theoretical design and methodological design of the study. Paradigms of research methodology may be categorized as research paradigms and theoretical paradigms; both together provide holistic view-point for case study research. Research paradigms are already discussed above. The theoretical paradigms like critical theory, strength-based theory, empowerment theory, and so on inform the researchers to approach the phenomenon under study with right perspective.

Types of Case Studies There are different types or categories of case study. Yin (1984) posits three categories of case study—exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory. A pilot study is generally considered an exploratory case study. Descriptive case studies focus on the characteristics of the case. The explanatory case studies are employed for causal studies. Whereas, Stake (2010) classifies “case study as an intrinsic case study, instrumental case study, multiple case study or collective case study. The intrinsic type of case study is undertaken because of the intrinsic motivation of the researcher. The instrumental case studies provide a base to understand other issues. Multiple case study or collective case study is an extension of instrumental study”. Iwakabe and Gazzola (2009) classify case studies into the following categories “(i) Clinical Case Study (ii) Experimental Case Study and (iii) Naturalistic/ Systematic case Study. The clinical case study is the narrative account of the intervention or therapy. The experimental case studies in medical settings evaluate effectiveness of an intervention or treatment. Such studies may be considered as alternatives to large-scale outcome research” (Widdowson, 2011). However, experimental case studies aim to address specific changes in the behaviour of the participants or clients that can be attributed to the designed interventions, whereas systematic case studies are used to rectify the methodological problems associated with clinical case studies. In this type of case study method, the data required for the study is gathered from different sources, which is also called as triangulation method. McDonough postulate two categories of case studies, such as interpretive case study and evaluative case study. The interpretive case study is used to interpret the data by developing conceptual categories. Whereas in evaluative case study, the researcher makes judgement of the phenomenon under study (McDonough & McDonough, 1997). “A case study generally uses different but appropriate methods and tools for data collection from several sources and situations of the phenomenon under study. The methods and tools employed include both quantitative and qualitative” (Meredith, 1998). Qualitative case study helps in exploration of a phenomenon within a particular context and use different perspectives to understand different facets of the phenomenon (Baxter & Jack, 2015). Real time is a major feature of the case studies that focus on the events or situations that occur in a particular time frame and context,

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which in true sense makes the difference (Kaarbo & Beasley, 1999). Distinctively, Ang et al. (2019) adopted quantitative case study to understand student identity and satisfaction in higher education. The focus of case study was a private university considered as a unit of study in Malaysia.

When to Use Case Study Method Case study can be used in many situations to understand comprehensively the unit of study and address the issues of pertinent. • The research questions that the researcher is attempting to address determine the method of research. Hence, the case study method is most appropriate to address the descriptive questions of the researcher. Exploratory nature and indepth understanding are the prime and distinctive features of case study. Therefore, case studies attempt to achieve what the survey and experimental studies are not able to achieve (Towne & Shavelson, 2002). • The cases study as a research method can be used while exploring the phenomenon related to the real-world context. As stated by Bromley (1990), the case study method is favourable for collecting data in a natural setting. A researcher can use other research methods, but using a case study might help the researcher to gain a more depth understanding of the particular phenomenon. • As documented by scholars, the case study method is very useful and extensively adopted in the research related to evaluation. • Instrumental case study is relevant to get insights into a phenomenon. Intrinsic motivation urges a researcher to take-up intrinsic case study. Collective study can be undertaken to broadly look at a problem or phenomenon (Stake, 1995). However, in all these cases, case study is exclusively used to study a particular phenomenon. • One can prefer to adopt case study as a research method while finding the answer for the questions such as “how” and “why” (Yin, 1994). • Case study is also used extensively in psychological rehabilitation and therapy settings. The evidence shows that psychotherapy research is extensively adopting the case study methodology. There is a need to develop the skills required for case studies among psychotherapy practitioners (Widdowson, 2011).

Advantages Case study as a method has both advantages and disadvantages (Sommer, 1997; Page et al., 1966; Zeisel, 1984). “It is widely used in social science disciplines such as Sociology (Grässel & Schirmer, 2006), and Law” (Lovell, 2006) and Medicine (Taylor & Berridge, 2006). The popularity and reliability of a case study as a research method in multidisciplinary areas is based on the advantages of the case study method.

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In the following part, an attempt has been done to examine the advantages of a case study and its applicability in social science research. • Case study method is extensively used in educational settings. It has been found most appropriate in such situations, where understanding the unique problems pertaining to teaching–learning is more prominent. • Need for a context-based understanding, inevitably demands use of case study method (Yin, 1984). • "The strength of case study method is in the limitations of quantitative methods in providing holistic and in-depth explanations of the social, economic and behavioural problems” (Zainal, 2003). More striking fact is that multiple case studies, if rigorously followed, equally potential like the quantitative studies to present research outcomes. • The case study method is more appropriate to understand the behavioural and social issues (Tellis, 1997). • In a mixed-method study, case study provides insightful understanding to substantiate the quantitative results (Tellis, 1997). • "While comparing the case study method with other research methods used in social science research, the strength of the case study method lays in its ability to examine the research question in-depth” (Yin, 2004). • The case study method is very useful in examining the research questions related to real life (Yin, 2004). • The case study research has some uniqueness compared to other methods. It is only case study that can provide the depth understanding of the real-life situations (Hayes, 2000). • The case study method has its own well-defined design, data collection, and analysis procedures. Case studies very effectively make up the gaps in mixedmethod studies, in order to substantiate the results of quantitative studies. • "Case studies are extremely useful to explore new areas and issues where little theory is available or measurement is unclear” (Stake, 2010). • When other research methods are found not appropriate, case study finds its significance in such situations (Stake, 2010).

Disadvantages Despite advantages, the case study method in social research has many disadvantages and criticisms. • A major criticism presented, “case study method in social research is often suspected of lack of rigour. In many instances the case study investigator may be careless and may allow ambiguous evidence or biased views to influence the direction of the findings and conclusions” (Yin, 1994). • Case study method cannot make generalization, since take small sample for study. In some situations, only one subject is taken for the study. In this context, the

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general criticism for the case study is “How can you generalise from a single case?” (Yin, 1984). It was pointed that the greatest difficulty in the case study method is about gathering a huge amount of data for the study. Ethnographic case studies and longitudinal case studies also draw a huge volume of data, which complicate the data analysis (Hamera et al., 2011). One very common criticism for the case study method is based on its sample size. As pointed, case study method depends on a single-case exploration and this nature of the study making it difficult to generalize the findings and the results of the study (Tellis, 1997). It was also criticized that the sample size used in the case study is very small, and therefore termed case methodology as ‘microscopic’ (Yin, 1993). Despite its advantages, there are many stereotypes around the case study method. Generalization is the first stereotype of case study method. The second stereotype is that the case study method is not a method itself but one of the designs in quasi-experimental research. The cases used for the research in case study methods represent real situations in most situations. Even in some instances the data gathered or used for the study may be hidden and represent uncommon facts, in this case the subject used for the case may be fictional. Nevertheless, this nature of the case study affects the outcome of the study and the result of the study cannot be applicable scientifically (Hayes, 2000). In most of the case study research, the cases used for the purpose are not intended to be comprehensive or exhaustive. In most incidences, the cases are snapshots of a particular situation within a complex environment. This nature of the study subject ultimately affects the result and the findings of the study.

Conclusions Case study is a robust method of research, provided a systematic process is followed, methodologically advocated procedures are adopted, and insightful analysis is carried out. Depending on the nature of need and problem, a case study has its advantages. It has the strength to serve both primary and secondary purposes of research. If exclusively, case study research is conducted, authentic data enable the researcher to analyse the case and generalize to the extent of such cases. This method also has the potential to meet such gaps that quantitative research leaves behind. In social work practice, case study plays an important role to enable the caseworker, group worker, and community organizer to have a comprehensive and clear understanding of the situation, problem, or challenge; so as to correspondingly design interventions to bring desired change. In social work research, case study is an empowering initiative to understand and enable the participant or partner or collaborator to understand in their context, and gain right perspective of the person, event, or situation. It provides stronger inputs to bring effective outputs in person/s or situations.

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Chapter 22

Ethnographic Method Faisal Ahmmed

Abstract This chapter explicates ethnographic method of qualitative research in the light of the field experience of the author. Many graduate students face a challenge in selecting appropriate qualitative methodology for their research. This might be because of poor understanding of the principles for selecting particular. Limited experience in conducting qualitative research can also be the reason. This chapter is an attempt to make the issues clear to novice researchers so that they can design and conduct ethnographic research following certain steps. It also explains how narrative description is used in ethnographic research as the product of analysis with maximum accuracy. The chapter aims to guide an ethnographic researcher to conduct study in naturalistic setting and present the findings with cultural meaning of studied phenomenon. Keywords Ethnographic · Qualitative research · Graduate students

Introduction It is said that ethnography was developed by Gerhard Friedrich Müller as a separate discipline first in 1733 (Vermeulen, 2008) in Europe. In 1846, it started to spread in the USA with support from The Smithsonian Institution. Later in 1879, the US Bureau of Ethnology began to use this method for collecting data on Indians. German researcher Frank Boas did much in the late 1800s to advance ethnography, and he and his students were found dominating this field in the early 1900s in America (Ellen, 1984). In recent years, the importance of ethnography as a method of qualitative research is gaining rapid recognition to reflect some limitations of the quantitative method (Brewer, 2000). The aim of ethnographic research is to understand the cultural meaning and interpretation of human experiences (Charmaz & Mitchell, 2001). It is an art and science designed to observe and describe human behaviour and culture in its natural setting (Fetterman, 1998). However, the experience of getting access F. Ahmmed (B) Department of Social Work, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_22

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to the natural environment varies irrespective of researchers and research subjects. Therefore, it is required for a novice researcher to know the challenges, limitations, and the process of conducting ethnographic research in order to collect, analyse, and interpret the data more efficiently. This chapter is a short description of the stages of ethnographic research, data collection processes I adopted, and the challenges I faced and how overcame them through the self-learning method. I had a theoretical understanding of conducting ethnographic research before this field research. I thought that the work would be very easy for me, and I will be able to conduct my research with maximum accuracy without major challenges. Just after starting my work, I found that the way I thought my task would not be so easy. I started thinking but found it difficult to get ways before practical actions and was waiting to face the practical environment as per its demand. During my study, I have applied some techniques in the management of field environment that I did not learn from literature. I got confidence from a single word ‘flexibility’ which is mentioned in kinds of literature as a licence to apply self-skill and technique in any phase of ethnographic research. Before field work, I thought that I must gather objective-based data whatever the techniques are. In this process, I was aware of the ethical obligations but was less aware of the techniques mentioned in the literature. After completion of my study, I have compared my actions with the existing literature and got an insight into how self-understanding can be effective in gathering data for an ethnographic study.

Meaning of Ethnographic Research The word ‘ethnography’ is derived from the Greek word ethnos, which means a company, people or nation and graph, which means “writing”. The Webster Dictionary defines ethnography as the study of the geographical distribution of races or peoples and their relation to the environments in which they live. As one of the qualitative methods, ethnographic research completely engages in the lives, culture, or situation which is under investigation. Ethnography is the description of culture (Spradley, 1979) using a ‘process of learning about people by learning from them’ (Roper & Shapira, 2000 cited in Higginbottom et al., 2013). Fetterman (2010) noted that ethnographic research emphasizes on in-depth comprehension of the phenomena which requires data collection from multiple sources including document analysis, participant observation, interviews, and cultural immersion by a researcher. It is a method that helps a researcher to explore the pattern of human experience through participation and careful observation of life events and culture of those under study (Angrosino, 2007). It facilitates a researcher to integrate him/herself to research participants with unstructured and flexible data collection methods to explore the meanings of human activity for the individuals themselves and the broader society (Brewer, 2000: 20). Scholars have mentioned certain characteristics of ethnography (Angrosino, 2007; Atkinson & Hammersley, 1998, cited in Higginbottom et al., 2013; Hammersley,

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1998, cited in Brewer, 2000:19). Analysing all, we can understand the following characteristics of ethnography: • Ethnography is conducted in real-life setting to investigate a particular social phenomenon. • The process is inductive and holistic. • The role played by researcher is both observer and a participant that requires a long term commitment and engagement. • Collected data using triangulation method may be unstructured and divergent from pre-coded data. • Conclusions and interpretations drawn from the comments of the participant expose ethnography as dialogic. • The nature of analysis is descriptive which is derived from small sample size, may be from one case.

Techniques and Tools of Data Collection in Ethnographic Research Techniques Multiple techniques of data collection are usually employed in ethnographic research to get insightful personal and in-depth information from the research subjects. However, most widely used ethnographic methods are interviewing, observation, and document analysis (Angrosino, 2007; Kawulich, 2005).

Participant Observation Angrosino (2007) described observation as the act of perceiving the activities and interrelationships of people in the field setting. Participant observation is the process of enabling researchers to learn about the activities of the people under study in the natural setting through observing and participating in those activities Kawulich (2005). Maintaining professional distance, the researcher participate in the lives of the people under a study through participant observation (Fetterman, 1998). Participant observation is most effective in studying non-verbal behaviour of individual and groups. Werner and Schoepfle (1987) (as cited in Kawlich, 2005) describe three types of processes of participant observation: • The first is descriptive observation, in which the researcher observe a situation or event assuming that s/he knows nothing. This can provide both relevant and

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irrelevant data about the research subject and researcher has to pick the data those are in line with the objectives of the study. • The second type is focused observation which emphasizes observation with interviews of research participants. In this process, insights of the participant guide the researcher’s decisions about the subject matter of observation. • The third type of observation is selective observation, in which the researcher focuses on different types of activities. The aim of this observation is to describe the differences among activities those are being observed. Bernard (1994) lists five reasons for including participant observation in ethnographic research on cultural issues and other everyday life activities those are difficult to document or explore through interview: • It can facilitate to the involvement of researcher in sensitive activities to which s/he generally would not be invited. • People act in an artificial way if they are aware of being observed and participant observation reduces the incidence of such “reactivity”. • It helps the researcher to develop culturally relevant questions for other method of investigation. • It gives the researcher a better understanding of what is happening in the culture and gives credibility to one’s interpretations of the observation. • Participant observation also enables and give insights the researcher to prepare data collection tools both for quantitative and qualitative research (as cited in Kawlich, 2005).

Interviewing Interviewing is the process of guiding a conversation to gather data (Angrosino, 2007). In ethnography, the contextual interview can help the researcher to get data from the place where behaviour occurs. The researcher should be present at the home or inside the community and an interview with the participant giving special preference to the participant. If a researcher wants to know about the pattern of the particular behaviour of community on a particular issue, s/he should be present there and may ask the participants about this and it becomes easier both for interviewee and researcher to share and get authentic information through face-to-face conversation.

Archival Research or Document Analysis This is the analysis of available materials that provide an outline for research project, formulation of research questions, and justification of study findings. If a researcher wants to know about the traditional cultural practices of a particular community or group on a certain issue, s/he should consult with relevant documents available and

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then possible compare them with existing practices that may be gathered through observation and interviews. Stored existing materials should be selected carefully so that their reliability is acknowledged by the group and /or community on which the research is conducted.

Tools Diary and daily notebook are maintained in documenting data gathered from the participant observation. There should have checklists, and the researcher can use them considering their sensitivity to the group or community which is under investigation. If it does not affect the natural environment, the researcher can use it openly or can keep the checklist in her/his mind and can observe things accordingly. The interview requires an interview schedule with open-ended questions, and it should include questions that cover all aspects of research. The camera can be used for documenting the photographs and videos of events and behaviour. The researcher should be careful in using any tools or instruments, and prior permission of participants and community people should be earned.

When a Researcher Will Think to Using an Ethnographic Method Streubert and Carpenter (1999) mentioned the following reasons for choosing an ethnographic study: First, when the researchers are to document, understand, and describe alternative realities from the participants’ points of view, which are salient to understanding the range of events and behaviours of people in a particular culture. Second, when a researcher is interested to build a substantive grounded theory, the description and interpretation of participant observations produce a description of the basic social-psychological process. Citing the reference of Charmaz and Mitchell (2001), Aldiabat and Navenec (2011) mentioned that the ethnographic method involves only the development of a thick description of how people in a certain culture live their lives. My study was qualitative due to the need for a deep understanding of indigenous culture on elderly care and support, which could only be discovered through observations, in-depth interviews, and an examination of practical activities (Patton, 2002). I desired to conduct an in-depth study about the norms, values, and care system for the elderly as it occurs normally in real life of the Khasi ethnic group, and it could be possible through an ethnographic method of qualitative research (Streubert & Carpenter, 1999). An ethnographic approach was identified as the most appropriate method because it directs focus on the lived experience of the elderly

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people of selected indigenous groups, social and spiritual leaders, and their family members who were identified as subjects of the study (Maanen, 1988). To understand the ageing problem within a complex culture (Aldiabat and Navenec, 2011) of the Khasi indigenous group, ethnographic method of qualitative research was also suitable. There was nothing known about the ageing issue of the Khasi indigenous group before this research. Ethnography is, in particular, suitable for investigating minority groups in society such as the marginalized and the stigmatized peoples’ issues because such work can provide rich, thick, and detailed descriptions about the unknown or the little known (Li, 2008) issues of those people. Only ethnographic method allows researchers to observe what people do in “real-life” contexts, not what they say what they do. Ethnographic participant observation can supply detailed, authentic information unattainable by any other research method (Homan, 1980; Humphreys, 1970; Gans, 1999, cited in Li, 2008). To empower the very people being studied, transforming the “public consciousness” and “common sense” about the disadvantaged in society (Fine et al., 2003 cited in Lin 2008), ethnographic research can be the best selection.

Major Steps Followed to Conduct a Successful Ethnographic Study I followed a set of stages in conducting my study which was guided by existing kinds of literature on the ethnographic method.

Problem Formulation This should be the first stage of research and in fact formulation of a problem or selection of research, and the problem can provide a clear understanding of the methodology to be selected by a researcher. In ethnographic research, it is important to define the main focus of the research which can be possible by selecting a problem about which a researcher intends to learn more. I had a personal interest in population ageing. But the area of ageing is wider and conducting academic research within the timeframe and financial arrangement needs specific problems which can be investigated accordingly. Reviewing existing literature, I found ethnic minority elderly people who are mostly excluded by researchers. Due to my interest and proximity to my workplace, I had a good relationship with some of the indigenous leaders. Primarily, I discussed the needs and problems of their elderly and noticed some exceptional indigenous care systems for their elderly. I found them important, unexplored, and felt that I should learn detail about them and selected indigenous support systems and care for the elderly people in the Khasi community as my research topic.

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Selection of Sample Most of the ethnographic research follows the purposive sampling technique (Higginbottom et al., 2013). It is perceived that the participants selected through purposive sampling have specific and sufficient knowledge or experience. Considering the nature of my research problem. I followed the purposive sampling technique for selecting both research sites and research participants. I selected village census as a technique to find out elderly people age 60 years and above so that the participants can represent sex, gender, and all socioeconomic background. All of the elderly people living in the selected village were included as participants. As there was no data on the elderly population in the selected ethnic minority community, the census was considered the most efficient and effective tool to identify research participants.

Selection of Research Site and Gaining Access To research ethnic minority communities, research site should be selected technically so that it permits thorough investigation. As a member of the majority community, deciding on the research site for this sensitive study was not so easy for me. I selected the Khasi indigenous group who live in isolated and border territories of the northeastern part of Bangladesh. I had to face challenges to identify appropriate gateways for entry into the community, participate, and observe their various permissible activities on which I required data for my research. I had a connection with a Khasi leader who lived in an urban centre and requested him to support me in getting access to their community. He refused to tell me that the people will not trust me and they will not allow me to stay in their community as I am a member of the majority community. I was frustrated and was feeling helpless. Not giving up my plan, I was trying to get a connection for easy access to the community. Meanwhile, one of my graduate students extended his support. He was a member of the Garo ethnic community. The Garo is another ethnic minority community that had a close relationship with the Khasi people. The father of my student was an official of an international organization that directly worked for the wellbeing of the Khasi people. Taking support from my student, I talked to his father and he was agreed to support me. He suggested me select two remote Khasi villages purposively where they run their education programme. Though the villages were located in isolated remote areas without road communication, I agreed and requested him to arrange everything for me so that I could stay in selected villages for three months. Accordingly, he made contact with two village leaders. Both of the village leaders denied it for the first time. My efforts continued, and after a few weeks, both of the village leaders showed their interest to visit my home. I invited them with the support of the father of my student. They came and we discussed my purpose. Making them understand about research was not as easy as they were not formally educated and unaware about research. I assured them that my presence will not affect their ways

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of living, I will not act or perform anything against their culture, and above all, I will never disobey their restrictions. The village leaders were convinced and told that they have no problem allowing me if their central community leaders permit. They assured me that they will take the necessary steps for the approval of central community leaders. Village leaders started negotiation quickly and central leaders of the Khasi community started to investigate my profession and activities, and at last, they permitted me to stay in their village. Although the total process took about two months, I was existed and thankfully acknowledged their support. One date was fixed and accompanying my Garo student as research assistant we started our journey to the selected Khasi villages. The journey was not comfortable; we had to walk for about seven kilometres on muddy channels to reach there. The water of the channel was full of leeches, snakes, and water insects. A team of Khasi children guided us during this exciting journey. After reaching the village gate, the mother of the village head welcomed us and entertained us with Khasi betel leaf as part of their tradition. This was the first time I had experienced having the hot Khasi betel leaf. This was hard but enjoyed so that we can be accepted as their wishes. We were accepted nicely; the village head arranged our housing and food, and the support was very warm.

Presenting Myself It was critical and confusing for the first time. I made a plan to present myself as a learner about the community people in the general and the indigenous elderly care system in particular. Just after reaching the selected research site, residents were curious and was asking different questions like who am I ?, why should I stay in their villages?, what I will do?, etc. I gave answers to all of their questions without hiding anything. I told them how I would be participating in their lives. I made them clear that a major portion of my time in their community will be observing elderly peoples’ roles and responsibilities in the family and community and how do families care for their elderly. I had a preparation to be an ordinary person to the villagers and accordingly my garbing was alike the community people. I did not show any query for the first few days. I met people, travelled to their houses, and introduced myself as simply as possibly. To get wider acceptance, the village head accompanied me for the first two days and introduced me to his people. It helped me substantially to get a trustworthy relationship and became easier to escape my status as an intruder. Community people had their language which was unknown to me. To overcome language barriers, the village leaders recruited a high school student in their community who helped me to learn introductory/welcoming communicative words. After a week, I found myself as a trustworthy and affectionate person to the community people. Elderly people started sharing their everyday activities, their needs and problems, and coping mechanisms usually they do the practice. Most of the elderly people started to invite me to their homes, and I accepted all of their invitations without hesitation. To find out the population of my study, I made a plan

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to conduct a village census. But it was not needed; all of the elderly people met me spontaneously and informed me who are not able to move.

Data Collection Ethnography allows multiple data collection techniques and in most cases use participant observation, usually triangulated with interviews, with “key informants” in particular. Such triangulation importantly helps to ensure the reliability of data. In my research, I applied in-depth interviews with elderly people. I took key informant interviews with village leaders, caregivers of elderly people, and children of the elderly who are living with their elderly parents with chronic illness. In addition to interviews, I applied informal conversations as a technique of data collection throughout my data collection process which took almost six months. Participant observation was also widely applied. Participant observation is used as the primary method of fieldwork which involves “actively looking, improving memory, informal interviewing, writing detailed field notes, and perhaps most importantly, patience” (DeWalt & DeWalt, 2002). It enabled me to learn about the activities of elderly people in their natural settings through observing and participating in those activities. I actively participated with elderly people in their natural settings. I have worked with them in their farmland and participated in social and religious festivals and observed how elderly people perform their role in the family and the society and how community people and family members of elderly people respect and support their elderly members. They provided me with ways to check for non-verbal expression of feelings including participants’ way of interaction and time spent on various activities that were not possible to get through interviewing in my research. While participant observation helped me to reveal the world of Khasi elderly people in naturalistic community settings, in-depth interviewing exposed the meanings of the indigenous elderly care system and sociocultural values regarding ageing by attending to elderly peoples’ perspectives and interpretations (Li, 2008). Collecting data from my participants was not easy going always. After observing community and elderly people, I found that the interview schedule with open-ended questions is not a suitable tool. The same was for any formal tools like a checklist. On the first date of my data collection, I found that participants, as well as community people, are not comfortable once I try to open any tool like interview schedule and checklist. They started to ask me curiously what I should write and what I would do with this. My answers were not satisfactory to them, and I found that the participants and community people are feeling uneasy interacting with me. Then, I had to take a different strategy, leave all formal instruments, and go throw all of the questions and issues that need to be learnt from my participants. I started to interact with them very informally and not impose control in the discussion, it was in line with the desire of the participants. I simply raised the issue and participants discussed it in her/his ways, and I never stopped them. Sometimes, more than one participant attended in discussion and I also welcomed them. Someday, they invited me to their home, and

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somedays, I visited their home, workplace, and gathering place. One grocery shop was in between the two villages where elderly people used to gather for gossiping and I was a regular listener of that gossiping and I got a lot of data from each gossiping session. Once I worked with them in their firm lands, I was able to discuss research questions informally and discussion took place warmly. I have attended their social festivals and observed how elderly people can participate in multiple roles.

Gathering and Recording Information I have discussed why it was difficult for me to collect and record data at the same time. I could not carry any diary or notebooks or any recording tools before the participants to avoid their confusion. I did not take field notes when I was involved in the field with my participants. Though I took this strategy for gaining trust and broader acceptance of participants, it helped me to interact with participants and observe without interference. After fieldwork, I started to record at night and it was my daily routine and strategy to document whatever I got in the field. This running description technique is proposed by Singleton and Straits (2005). This quick regular action was for minimizing recall problems. My research assistant used to accompany me and after recording data I used to share with him and he used to support me if I missed any information to record. Raising the same issue on the next date for more clarification was a regular practice for avoiding confusion and more clarification about the issue discussed by the participants. As I had the same discussion and observation with different people, some issues I forgot to document last night could recall in the field and wrote them just after getting back from the field. After recording data, my habit was to read and re-read it and try to gain self-satisfaction. Once I was dissatisfied, used to find out personal limitations, own biases and visited participants on several occasions to justify whether I have documented data subjectively or objectively.

Data Analysis and Interpretation The researcher’s awareness of multiple ways of analysing qualitative data is most important. The ethnographer is called a human instrument (Fetterman, 2010), and thus, an ethnographer is to eliminate all personal biases and preconceptions before entering the study domain—from data collection to analysis. In the data analysis phase, special emphasis is given to the field notes and records prepared during fieldwork. The researcher’s observations are also presented. The qualitative data analysis process comprises multiple phases, such as examining, cleaning, organizing, reducing, exploring, describing, explaining, displaying, interrogating, categorizing, pattern finding, transforming, consolidating, comparing, integrating, synthesizing, and interpreting data. I followed all of the stages mentioned. I collected rich data from a relatively small sample which helped me to get a clear insight into my research

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problem. Field notes were collected consciously which had a concrete effect on the interpretation of research findings (Walls, 2011). I had no desire to generalize the findings rather my analysis focused on searching inner meanings of issues that were under my investigation. I have observed the patterns of data and then identified categories and themes. I also developed typologies of data and based on the relationships of different social and cultural issues raised by the participants were established through explanations. Finally, interpretations depicted the meaning and nature of the indigenous care system, their sustainability, and the possibility of its replication into the mainstream community of Bangladesh where indigenous and traditional support systems of the elderly people are decreasing.

Advantages and Challenges Faced by a Researcher Advantages A researcher can select a particular method or multiple methods for her/his research project from some methodologies. However, the suitability of each method should be examined first for choosing a method for the specific study. The ethnographic method of qualitative research has certain advantages which can allow a researcher to select this method for gathering detailed information from a naturalistic environment. Analysing Wolcott (1999) provided list, Sangasubana (2011) mentioned the advantages of ethnographic research, some of which are as follows: • Appropriate for conducting the study by a researcher alone. • Suitable for study on sensitive issues. • Applicable to study marginalized groups of people or hard to reach community which in turn may empower the studied group or community. • Appropriate for gathering data on insider’s interpretation of reality. • Facilitates the researcher to observe and document the variations over time. • Possibility of carrying out research at any place. • Creates opportunity for a researcher to work without considering the participants as objects. • Provides comprehensive findings for further research and writing. • Makes the researcher’s journey to data collection exploratory and thought provoking. • Eases the research with less expensive tools or equipment. • Allows the researcher’s access to the exclusive domain with full responsibility which eventually develops his/her skills to discover the facts of chosen setting and learn others culture. • Allows a researcher to gather data on verbal and non-verbal behaviours in a naturalistic setting.

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Limitations and Challenges Despite having various advantages in conducting ethnographic research, some limitations are explained by scholars. The advocates of natural science criticized that ethnography is below the standards of science from the point of view of measurement and generalization. Fabian (1983) criticizes ethnography, as a discipline, for its failure to pinpoint cultures in time. Neuman (2003) identified three issues: reactivity, reliability, and validity as challenges in conducting ethnographic research. A researcher should be careful so that it can be overcome. In ethnographic research, all of the challenges are expected to be minimized by the researcher herself/himself. Naturally, the community or group which is under investigation may behave differently in the presence of researcher because they know that they are in a study (Sangasubana, 2011). It is easy to minimize this reactivity, and the author has described how he overcame this challenge during data collection familiarizing himself with his participants. In ethnographic research, reliability and validity issue is frequently questioned as the process depends upon the quality (insight, consciousness, questions and observing the behaviours and events from different viewpoints and outlooks (Neuman, 2003) of the researcher alone. To ensure reliability, the researcher should know how to gather consistent, and credible data both internally and externally (Neuman, 2003). In the data collection stage of this chapter, the author has mentioned how he recorded the behaviour of elderly people consistently in different contexts of their lives. He also mentioned how data gathered from the elderly people were cross-checked and verified gathering data from community leaders, caregivers, and children of elderly people. These were for ensuring the consistency of data. Sangasubana (2011) emphasizes the credibility assessment of the sources of data due to researchers’ reliance on what others express. Validity can also be ensured by the ethnographic researcher by gathering and analysing data and also representing the lives and culture under the study Neuman (2003). It is described earlier that being a non-member of the community, how the author was capable of performing as an insider of the community. This helped him to interact with elderly people effectively and gather data from a naturalistic environment. The result and conclusions were articulated based on the practical observation and field notes those were preserved and recorded with maximum accuracy. In addition, ethnographic research is labour intensive and time-consuming. It takes a long to get access to the community, build confidence in the community, and observe the natural setting for understanding colure. Sometimes, it becomes difficult to participate and observe at the same time and information might be missing and again more time needs to cross-check the field data. Observer effect is another limitation through which researcher face difficulty during data collection as the group or community people become aware of the researchers’ observation upon them. Personal biases due to massive participation may also hamper the validity of data. It becomes difficult to follow structured observation in controlled settings which may

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hamper the objectivity of the study. All of these limitations can be minimized by the capability of the researcher.

Conclusions Though conceptual and methodological confusions are raised by a section of scholars and an ethnographic researcher may experience personal, cultural, and methodological challenges; ethnographic research has meaningful and useful application in learning people and societies who are not known or slightly known by the other people of a broader society. Problems of validity and relevance in ethnography are explained by Hammersley (1992); however, the ethnographic researcher can present the narrative of the cultural connotation of the phenomenon through investigation on both verbal and non-verbal behaviours in naturalistic settings which are not possible by a quantitative researcher. It allows a researcher to get an insight into reality Ethnographic research can be conducted by a single researcher and that is why it may be less expensive, easily manageable, and interesting but adventurous. Increased selfawareness and skills of the ethnographic researcher can produce valid and reliable knowledge on the culture, society of a marginalized group of people which also can create a base for further investigation on the same issue.

References Angrosino, M. (2007). Doing ethnographic and observational research. Sage. Aldiabat, K. & Navenec, C. L. (2011). Clarification of the blurred boundaries between grounded theory and ethnography: Differences and similarities. Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, 2(3) Atkinson, P., & Hammersley, M. (1998). Ethnography and participant observation. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Strategies of qualitative inquiry (pp. 110–136). Sage. Bernard, H. R. (1994). Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (2nd ed.). AltaMira Press. Brewer, J. D. (2000). Ethnography. Open University Press. Charmaz, K., & Mitchell, R. G. (2001). Grounded theory in ethnography. In P. Atkinson, Coffey, S. Delamont, J. Lofland, & L. Lofland (Eds.), Handbook of ethnography (pp. 160–174). Sage. DeWalt, K. M., & DeWalt, B. R. (2002). Participant observation: A guide for fieldworkers. AltaMira Press. Ellen, R. F. (Ed.) (1984). Ethnographic research: A guide to general conduct. Academic Press. From http://faculty.babson.edu/krollag/org_site/org_theory/Scott_articles/ellen_ethhis. html. Retrieved on September 5, 2018. Fabian, J. (1983). Time and the other. Columbia University Press. Fetterman, D. M. (1998). Ethnography: Step by step (2nd ed.), Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA. Fetterman, D. M. (2010). Ethnography: Step by step (3rd ed.). Sage Publications. Fine, M., Weis, L., Weseen, S., & Wong, L. (2003). For whom? Qualitative research, representations, and social responsibilities. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The landscape of qualitative research: Theories and issues (pp. 167–207). Sage.

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Gans, H. J. (1999). Participant observation in the era of “ethnography”. Journal of contemporary ethnography, 28(5), 540-548. Hammersley, M. (1992). Some reflections on ethnography and validity. Qualitative studies in education, 5(3), 195-203. Higginbottom, G. M. A., Pillay, J. J., & Boadu, N. Y. (2013). Guidance on performing focused ethnographies with an emphasis on healthcare research. The Qualitative Report, 18(Art. 17), 1–16. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR18/higginbottom17.pdf Homan, R. 1980. The ethics of covert methods. British Journal of Sociology, 31, pp. 46–59 London, UK. Humphreys, L. (1970) Tearoom Trade: Impersonal Sex in Public Places. Chicago: Aldilie Publishing Co Kawulich, B. B. (2005). Participant observation as a data collection method [81 paragraphs]. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 6(2), Art. 43. http://nbn-resolv ing.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0502430 Li, J. ( 2008). Ethical challenges in participant observation: A reflection on ethnographic fieldwork. The Qualitative Report, 13(1), 100–115. http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR13-1/li.pdf Lin, A. (2008). 5 Using ethnography in the analysis of pedagogical practice. Advances in discourse studies, 67. Neuman, W. L. (2003). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (5th ed.). Allyn and Bacon. Patton, M. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Sage. Roper, J. M., & Shapira, J. (2000). Ethnography in nursing research. Sage. Sangasubana, N. (2011). How to conduct ethnographic research. The Qualitative Report, 16(2), 567–573. Retrieved from http://nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR16-2/sangasubana.pdf Singleton, R. A., & Straits, B. C. (2005). Approaches to social research (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. Spradley, J. P. (1979). The ethnographic interview. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Streubert, H., & Carpenter, D. (1999). Qualitative research in nursing: Advancing the humanistic imperative (2nd ed.). Lippincott. Van Maanen, J. (1988). Tales of the field: On writing ethnography. University of Chicago Press. Vermeulen, H. F. (2008). Early history of ethnography and ethnology in the German enlightenment, Leiden, p. 199 Walls, P. G. (2011). Socio-cultural challenges in conducting ethnographic research among Ethiopian street youth. The Qualitative Report, 16(3), 848–859. http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR16-3/ walls.pdf Werner & Schoepfle (1987). Ethnograph analysis and Data Management, Sage Publications, Inc Thousand Oaks, CA 91320, United States. Wolcott, H. F. (1999). Ethnography: A way of seeing. Altamira Press.

Chapter 23

Indigenous and Decolonizing Research Methodology Ndungi wa Mungai

Abstract This chapter presents an introduction to alternative approaches to research based on indigenous worldviews and knowledge. This approach also emphasizes decolonizing research methods that are developed from a Eurocentric view of the world. It argues for the urgent need to apply methods that are meaningful to nonEuro-western people as part of mental decolonization and liberation. When research is conducted from a Euro-western perspective, it privileges a single worldview and ignores and marginalizes others. How research is designed implemented and interpreted and who has a say in these processes have a bearing on the outcome. An indigenous and decolonizing paradigm prioritizes collective identity, sharing of knowledge, respect of people’s history, culture, spirituality, and relationships as seen from their perspective. It is concluded that while the indigenous and decolonizing methodology is still evolving, there is a rich body of work that attests to its viability. Keyword Indigenous research methods · Decolonization · Relationality · Research paradigm

Defining Parameters of Indigenous and Decolonizing A definition of indigenous and decolonizing methodology is not easy as both indigenous and decolonization are contested concepts. However, for this chapter and in the interest of keeping this discussion simple and accessible, indigenous will include all cultures that are not Euro-western. Colonized people and cultures will include all those who have been dominated by Euro-western domination, whether they are now fully independent as in many Asian and African countries, or continue to live in the shadow of that domination as in Australia, New Zealand, and North America. Indigenous research, therefore, refers to research done by, with, for, and in the interest of these people whose voices and worldview have been dominated and distorted by colonialism. N. wa Mungai (B) School of Social Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_23

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Indigenous research has an emphasis and focus on the local phenomenon, pays attention to context, aims to be integrative, and is informed and guided by an indigenous research paradigm (Chilisa, 2012). A paradigm here refers to a developed body of work by committed researchers that establish recognized applicable concepts, patterns theories, and standards in indigenous and decolonizing research. The objective is to create a space within and outside the academy to talk, explore, and work more creatively with particular groups and communities that have been oppressed and their point view historically regarded as unimportant or insignificant (Smith, 1999). Research is therefore not regarded as a neutral process as research has been experienced historically by non-western people as a tool for oppression. Research can be potentially changed to be a liberatory and transformative process for the indigenous people. However, for this to happen we have to pay attention to their specific needs, hopes, desires, and aspirations. Decolonising research methodologies are concerned with resisting and changing how research has been used as a tool for oppressing and colonizing the ‘other’ in Eurowestern research approaches. Smith (1999) has argued convincingly that research has in the past been associated with the extreme abuses of colonized people where the knowledge obtained through scientific research was used to justify and legitimate the dehumanization, dispossession, colonization, and destruction of colonized people. The research that aided imperialism collected and analysed data in ways that aided a western discourse of the ‘other’ and also made colonized people internalize a sense of inferiority. Research can therefore play a pivotal role in assisting the colonized people to reclaim their self-knowledge. This reclamation of self-knowledge has been described in Kenya as ‘kwimenya’—to rediscover yourself, both as individual and collective as people with a history and connection to others and the world (Mungai, 2012). Decolonizing the mind, even after political decolonisation, is the way Ngugi (1986) has described this process.

Why Do We Need an Indigenous and Decolonizing Methodology? A good question to ask is why do we need indigenous and decolonizing methods? Can’t scientific research methods, with universal laws of science that are based on evidence and logic, suffice to serve humanity? The problem has been that social research methods have been developed in Euro-western cultures and have tended to serve the interest of the colonizers while harming the colonized people and their cultures. Even in Euro-western cultures, certain segments have voiced their concerns about the bias. Feminist theorists, for example, have noted the gender bias in research that overlooks the interests of girls and women. In postcolonial research, African and Asian and other non-western feminists are working to steer research in a direction that addresses their needs and they resist the continued oppression of girls and women:

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A postcolonial indigenous feminist perspective moves out of the cage of universalized western gender theory and employs postcolonial and indigenous perspectives to reveal local standpoints that express girls and women’s agency and resistance to oppression. (Chilisa, 2012, p. 261)

It is clear therefore that while research is a process that is dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge it is not a neutral process. What knowledge is sought and how and by who it is done are issues with significant social and political implications. Indigenous and decolonizing research aims to ensure that the voices and interests of the indigenous, colonized, and formerly colonized people are heard. The issue is, however, more than just having the voices of the oppressed heard. It is about acknowledging and accepting the way they see their social reality (ontology), their way of knowing that social reality (epistemology), and their ethics and value system (axiology). Euro-western social science methodologies may present themselves as universal but in reality, they represent a Euro-western ontology, epistemology, and axiology. This matters because anything different from that Eurowestern worldview is bound to be ignored, marginalized, or dismissed as not a legitimate human experience.

Indigenous Ontology There is no unified indigenous ontology so it is important to avoid the trap of presenting this as a universal view. What is important is to explore the particular cases while also noting the commonalities. One such common feature is the importance of relationships. Before any collection of any data, it is important to establish relationships. In many traditional settings, it is critical to start proceedings by establishing how the participants are related. Chilisa (2012) notes that ‘indigenous ontology has an emphasis on relations and connections between humans and other beings in the universe’ (p. 21). The African philosophy of Ubuntu emphasizes that all beings are connected and it is only through those connections that we realize our full human potential (Mungai et al., 2014). Research with indigenous people, therefore, has to start with acknowledging and establishing a relationship through rituals and practices appropriate to the participating communities. It is clear too from this ontological perspective that relationships between people and between people and their physical and spiritual environment are the key to well-being. Wilson (2001) suggests that the relationship goes beyond the researcher and research participants to include a relation with all living and non-living beings. An indigenous research method, therefore, has to be accountable to all the relations. Spirituality is another key aspect of indigenous research. Spirituality is, however, not easily defined and often confused with religion. From an indigenous perspective, spirituality refers to the interconnectedness and inter-relatedness with nature, with the cosmos, the universe, and the creator of all that is in the universe. The ancient Egyptians held these beliefs on interconnectedness in the principles referred at as Maat which represented ‘the idea that it was necessary to possess order, balance,

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harmony, justice, truth, righteousness, and reciprocity as minima for holding back chaos in every aspect of life’ (Asante, 2007, p. 38). This was considered critical to maintaining the physical, spiritual, and moral health of the individuals and community. It is clear therefore that in indigenous research participants might be unhappy with any research that might unsettle existing order and relationships. In the Maori culture, all living things have mauri (a life force) and a spirit (Moeke-Maxwell, 2015). It is important to note too that spirituality is not a separate entity but is part of the connected whole that make up the physical, mental, spiritual, and environmental well-being of the individual and society. Aboriginal Australians refer to ‘Dreamtime’ a concept that translates to a time when mythic beings created the world, all the creations that exist, and the laws to govern every aspect of life including rituals and sacred sites (d’Abbs & Chenhall, 2013). Like other traditional spirituality, aboriginal spirituality is holistic and views all beings as interconnected with a common origin in dream time. Western scholarship has often struggled to comprehend the strong kinship links and the attachment people have to place. Researchers have to understand the spiritual beliefs of research participants as this has implications not only on their worldview but more importantly on how to engage them. Sharing food, prayers, and participating in rituals can make a difference between being accepted or rejected as a researcher. Decolonization is an important concept in research with indigenous people and cultures that are not Euro-western, precisely because research has played a prominent role in their oppression and marginalization. An example of this approach is the Kaupapa Maori, a theory and practice articulating the Maori resistance to continued colonization of Maori people and culture and taking an anti-colonial position (Mahuika, 2008). The reason for taking an anti-colonial position is that the social sciences we study are founded on Euro-western culture, history, and philosophies and have either been harmful to the interest of non-western people or do not identify with their struggles or problems (Smith, 1999). There may not be a specific decolonizing method that can be described as indigenous but that is not a problem. No culture is self-sufficient, and we can borrow what is relevant and appropriate and compatible with our needs. Talking circles have, for example, been found to be appropriate for research with indigenous people as sharing in non-hierarchical groups is the accepted way of sharing wisdom and exchanging information (Chilisa, 2012). Aboriginal Australians refer to that approach as ‘yearning circles’ and share some similarities with discussion focus groups in Euro-western methods but conducted differently.

Indigenous Epistemology While ontology is about the beliefs like reality, epistemology is about the thinking process to gain more knowledge about the nature of that reality. An Indigenous epistemology approaches knowledge as relational, which means that knowledge is

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shared by all creations (Wilson, 2001). This is fundamentally different from a Eurowestern epistemology that would regard knowledge as something that an individual can acquire and possess exclusively. The relationship that exists between people and between people and objects becomes even more significant than an objective reality (Wilson, 2001). The indigenous system of knowledge is thus based on these relationships between people, between people and objects, and even between people and the cosmos. What is considered important knowledge then is the knowledge on relationships and relatedness? The research questions then are about relationships and being accountable for these relationships and not about the validity concerns in the Euro-western research methods. Some methods are consistent with this epistemology such as ‘talking circles’ and storytelling. They are consistent because they involve establishing relationships and sharing knowledge, wisdom, and experiences (Wilson, 2001). Aboriginal Australian researchers identify participatory action research (PAR) to be consistent with this epistemology as it includes coming together and forming relationships as a first step towards action on a particular local issue (Ivanitz, 1999). PAR has other advantages including being a useful tool for self-determination and an appropriate tool for addressing social justice issues.

Indigenous Axiology in Research Indigenous axiology refers to the ethics and values that are important in research with indigenous communities as well as cultures that do not identify with Eurowestern traditions. An emphasis on relationality discussed above points to relational axiology that reflects relational accountability. The pillars of a relational ontology that also guide the axiology are accountable responsibility, respectful representation, reciprocal appropriation, and rights and regulations (Chilisa, 2012). The implications here are that the researcher needs to engage with the research participants in ways that build respectful relationships, ensure non-exploitative engagement, take responsibility for the relationships, ensure the research gives back to the community, and lead to reciprocally sharing knowledge. When people have a history of colonial oppression, then the researcher must pay attention to this for the effects colonialism linger on even after independence. The history of researchers taking advantage of community lack of knowledge to exploit them in appropriating their knowledge or distorting their perspective means research using indigenous axiology needs to pay special attention to who is gaining from research, who owns the research, and whose interests are served by the research. Ethical indigenous research should engage the community in all aspects of the research from designing the questions to analysing and interpreting the results. Research in Maori culture illustrates how researchers begin by explaining who they are and where they come from, what their purpose and interest in the research, and what the purpose of the research is (Chilisa, 2012). This is normal in any

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research but in indigenous research establishing your relationship to the participant, the community has a special meaning as it helps to cement the connection and establish trust and lasting relationships. Consent is a fundamental issue in all ethical research. In indigenous research, consent might need to be obtained, not only from individuals but also from the collective—group, community, or family. In some cases, this might mean going through the elders who are considered knowledgeable, responsible, and the gatekeepers to the community. Respecting the belief system of the community is critical, and many traditional communities have strong links with the place or land and see a strong link to the living and non-living world. Where people have adopted other religions such as Hinduism, Christianity, or Islam, that has to be respected as well and acknowledged as a valid worldview. Understanding that there is diversity even within a given community or religion is important. Understanding Muslims for example, one has to understand the diversity of Muslims and the social and political issues affecting their ‘collective consciousness,… Mudslims’ way of knowing, and considering the ongoing dehumanization of Islam and Muslims [in the west since 2011]’ (Stonebanks, 2008, p. 318). Researchers have an ethical responsibility to represent social marginalization.

Method Issues and Challenges The challenges that one face in proposing to use the indigenous methodologies are that many universities and research institutions regard Euro-western research methodologies as universal, proven, and evidence-based. The European cultural foundations and philosophical basis of these methods are overlooked. Indigenous methodologies have a responsibility to ‘expose the problem of applying cultural methods to another culture’s epistemology, theory, and/or philosophy’ (Kovach, 2000, p. 174). There is therefore an urgent need to free social research from this Euro-western domination and bring forth an alternative worldview that highlights neglected aspects like spirituality, collective identity, and relatedness realities of indigenous people and exposes past exploitation and abuse by western researchers. Taking culture into consideration is critical to indigenous research and therefore methods that are consistent with cultural practices have a higher chance of success. One such approach that has been found useful is the use of story and the central importance of location, culture, and a grounding in personal experience (Kovach, 2000). Using the story as a method is consistent with an indigenous methodology and paradigm that is based on a relational epistemology. To use a story than to gather knowledge, one has to ask a question that is open enough to invite conversation. Data collection methods that are favoured by this approach include storytelling, research circles, conversations, and journaling (Kovach, 2000). The use of questionnaires and highly structured interviews are unsuitable while researching tribal people like Aboriginal Australians (Ivanitz, 1999). Part of the reason is low literacy rates but the highly individualized approach also limits dialogue and sharing. That is not to say

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the methods can never be used but to caution about the serious limitation and low chances of acceptability. Conversations and methods based on conversations are consistent with oral traditions and have a higher chance of acceptability. This can be very time consuming and not easy to analyse as many qualitative researchers know. However, sitting in research circles, yearning circles or sharing circles are approaches that people in villages will be familiar with as ways of collective decision-making approaches on community matters. Rituals such as prayers and sharing of food could also be part of this activity. Local knowledge, including having accepted leaders, is critical for the success of this approach to gathering data. A method that is also consistent with an indigenous methodology is autoethnography, which is a study that involves the self in the narrative. As a method, it involves telling a story or stories but the researcher is the teller of the story (McIvor, 2010). The story is particular to the teller but it also tells about a particular time and the life experience of a generation. The sharing of the story allows the exploration of life in a given time and location. It reveals the relationships the teller had and also establishes relationships with the listener/reader. Autoethnography, therefore, blends the narrative method in Euro-western research methodologies with an indigenous approach to research through storytelling to create new knowledge. Decolonizing, transformational, and healing approaches are also noted as critical in indigenous research. Decolonizing as a concept is easy to understand for people with a history of being colonized and know social research methods were used in the process to marginalize the non-Europeans. Transformational research emphasizes that research is conducted with a clear purpose of improving people’s lives and addressing their expressed needs. Healing refers to mitigating the harm done in the past by research and colonization. A decolonizing, transformative, and healing researcher, therefore, takes a heavy responsibility to ensure that research serves a different purpose from what was done in the past. A researcher with this approach is therefore reflective, consultative, engages the participants in all aspects of the research, does not exploit participants, and works for the best interests of the participants. It is hard to know everything about a community so an advisory committee is always helpful in guiding the indigenous methodology researcher.

Ethical Issues and Challenges Whether one is indigenous or an outsider doing indigenous research, there are ethical issues to consider. These ethical issues relate to the institutions of the research but also issues to do with indigenous communities. The needs of the institutions to minimize risks and the indigenous communities focus on relations and connections may not always be aligned. However, care must always be taken to protect the interest and welfare of the research participants. There are many ethics review bodies that researchers have to conform with. The Euro-western institutions want to have the power to control and own the research data,

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especially when it may have a market value and may force contract agreements in their favour (Chilisa, 2012). The committed indigenous research needs to be conscious of this and ensure the research participants are not exploited. The issue of language can be complicated if one is researching as an outsider to a community. Appropriate use of language and cultural translator is critical in such circumstances. It is important that the research information including the purpose, expected outcome, and what participation entails is available in the language of the participants. The use of indigenous languages in research is an important ethical issue. It is also integral to the anti-imperialist struggle and self-determination (Ngugi, 1986). Many indigenous people have a collective memory of being swindled by imperialism to sign agreements they had no chance of comprehending. This implies research and is demonstrated by apprehension to sign consent forms which university ethics review boards insist on. This issue needs to be handled with care by ethics review bodies and discussed with the participants. A compromise needs to be found and that might be in the form of verbal consent by individuals, research circle groups, or community elders. The important thing is that there is no coercion, manipulation or deception, and individual and collective rights and cultures are respected.

Application Issues and Challenges When it comes to applying the question is how different the indigenous methodologies are from the conventional Euro-western ones. Are they completely new methods or do they borrow some aspects from the Euro-western methods? Do they meet or depart somewhere or are they entirely different methodologies? There are also suggestions that rather than a binary approach of Euro-western methods and indigenous methods there could be a composite method that takes the best of both worlds and develop a ‘post-conventional method’ (Bell, 2012). This is a major and ongoing debate so it will only be touched on briefly here. One argument offered is that the clear point of departure is in the interpretation of data. Asante (2007) argues that the sense we make of the data collected makes all the difference. In the past, western researchers have collected data from and on colonized people and interpreted it in ways that harmed them. Arguing in favour of an Afrocentric paradigm when researching African people, Asante argues that the data should be understood the African people’s perspective and their worldview. Important as data analysis and interpretations are, the data that one collects, who collects the data and who designs and analyses the data as well as how this is done are all important. By the time, one arrives at the analysis and interpretation it could be too late if these other issues have not been addressed. A different perspective is that there is an indigenous and decolonizing paradigm that approaches research very differently from Euro-western paradigms in every aspect of the research. The paradigm is still developing with a growing number of researchers in different places like Africa, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. The paradigm departs from the individualistic approach in Euro-western paradigms

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and has an ontology that emphasizes relations and connectedness and liberation from past and present colonial exploitation. The epistemology adopted also focuses on the importance of relationships in knowledge building. The paradigm also adopts axiology that emphasizes accountability to the relationships and involvement of the indigenous people in all aspects of the research. Having an indigenous paradigm does not mean completely inventing all aspects of indigenous research. That would be unrealistic and all knowledge includes some borrowing from other sources or cultures. The important thing is to be able to choose what to select and how to modify what you select to meet your needs. Decolonization does not mean hostility to western knowledge but offering constructive criticism and developing a better, effective, and more accountable approach to research with indigenous people. This is explained well in how the M¯aori researchers use a theoretical approach known as kaupapa to advance Maori research: Kaupapa M¯aori is not about rejecting p¯akeh¯a [white] knowledge. Instead, it is about empowering M¯aori hap¯u [clan or sub tribe] and iwi[tribe] to carve out new possibilities, and to determine in their ways their past, present and future identities and lives (Mahuika, 2008, p. 12).

So indigenous research methodologies are developed by indigenous people who have found that conventional Euro-western methodologies do not reflect their social realities because they were developed in and for different cultures. The proposed ‘post-conventional methodology’ aims to close this divide but it might be too early to accept such a proposal. The indigenous methodologies are still developing and should continue to do so alongside the Euro-western methods and both can keep on borrowing from each other. The biggest danger of marrying the two is that the Euro-western methods with their universal claims would soon overwhelm the indigenous methods.

The Future of Indigenous Research Convincing the universities and research institutions on the viability of indigenous methods is a challenge. Even many non-westerners are not familiar with indigenous methodologies and do not use them. I was not aware of them until I started my PhD and discovered the Afrocentric paradigm as an alternative that I could use in my research. In my social research methods classes, indigenous research methods are only discussed in passing as ‘other methods’. This is not the situation in all universities and some universities offer courses in indigenous research methods. Important developments have been made and a paradigm is evolving. Decolonization is an important part of this paradigm (Smith, 1999). Consistent with that idea of the indigenous paradigm being aligned with postcolonial methodologies is the importance of addressing mental decolonization in formerly colonized countries (Chilisa, 2012). Important theoretical and applied

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research work is being done, and the body of knowledge is growing rapidly and so it is looking very hopeful.

References Asante, M. K. (2007). An Afrocentric manifesto. Polity. Bell, K. (2012). Towards post-conventional philosophical base for social work. British Journal of Social Work, 42, 408–423. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcr073 Chilisa, B. (2012). Indigenous research methodologies. Sage. d’Abbs, P., & Chenhall, R. (2013). Spirituality and religion in response to substance misuse among indigenous Australians. Substance Use and Misuse, 48, 1114–1129. Ivanitz, M. (1999). Culture, ethics and participatory methodology in cross-cultural research. Australian Aboriginal Studies, 2, 46–58. Kovach, M. E. (2000). Indigenous methodologies: Characteristics, conversations and contexts. University of Toronto Press. Mahuika, R. (2008). Kaupapa M¯aori theory is critical and anti-colonial. MAI Review, 3, 1–16. From: http://www.review.mai.ac.nz McIvor, O. (2010). I am my subject: Blending indigenous research methodology and autoethnography through integrity-based, spirit-based research. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 33(1), 137–155. Moeke-Maxwell, T. (2015). Growing closer to death: M¯aori spirituality and ageing. From https://www.selwynfoundation.org.nz/media/2020/an-investigation-of-traditional-maoricare-customs-dr-tess-moeke-maxwell.pdf Mungai, N. W. (2012). “kwimenya”: The cultural foundation for self-discovery. In V. Pulla, L. Chenoweth, A. Francis, & S. Bakaj (Eds.), Papers in strengths based practice (pp. 112–124). Allied Publishers. Mungai, N. W., Wairire, G. G., & Rush, E. (2014). The challenges of maintaining social work ethics in Kenya. Ethics and Social Welfare, 8(2), 170–186. Ngugi, W. T. (1986). Decolonizing the mind: The politics of language in African literature. James Currey. Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous people. Zed Books. Stonebanks, C. D. (2008). An Islamic perspective on knowledge, knowing and methodology. In N. K. Denzin, Y. S. Lincoln, & L. H. Smith (Eds.), Handbook of critical and indigenous methodologies (pp. 293–319). Sage. Wilson, S. (2001). What is indigenous research methodology? Canadian Journal of Native Education, 25(2), 175–179.

Chapter 24

In-Depth Case Interview Md. Golam Azam

Abstract The interview has a long history of comprehensive use for collecting data in almost all disciplines of social science. In social research, there are various kinds of the interview being used to obtain in-depth information from the respondents under research study. The present chapter is not only confined to focus on the in-depth interview but also on relevant issues related to in-depth interviews that is a useful method of collecting detailed information. Here, the writer has presented the details of the in-depth interview that has widespread acceptance and popularity as a data collection method in qualitative research. Keywords Interview · In-depth case interview · Qualitative research · Naturalistic paradigm

Introduction An in-depth interview is one of the most popular methods of gathering information from the respondents (participants) in qualitative research. An in-depth interview is less structured and non-directive that permits freedom for both the interviewer and the respondent within the boundaries of research. The in-depth interview usually can take place face-to-face or over the phone in some cases. As a data collection method, an in-depth interview provides researchers with a wider scope of capturing descriptive data about the respondent’s attitude, behaviour, feelings, and perception. This type of interview typically is a conversation with pre-determined response categories, and the researcher tries to uncover the respondent’s views, attitudes, opinions, and perceptions. Historically, in-depth interviews began to be used as a method of collecting data for the study since an interpretative approach was adopted for the investigation in the fields of qualitative research studies (naturalistic or interpretative studies within the phenomenological paradigm (i.e., a philosophical position that explains

Md. Golam Azam (B) Institute of Social Welfare and Research, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_24

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how knowledge about human behaviour and culture is generated and communicated). The prime goal of interpretative research is to acquire a deep understanding of human experiences. This kind of research is often concerned with such data collection methods as the in-depth interview, participant observation, and the collection of relevant documents (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994: 46). In qualitative research, an in-depth interview is multimethod in focus that involves a naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative researchers explore things in natural settings and try to make sense of phenomena in terms of their meaning (Hughes, n. d.). In the case of qualitative study, the in-depth interview plays a significant role in providing detailed information about the subjective issues under study.

Meaning of In-Depth Interview In a simple sense, the interview is a systematic way of conversation to collect data from the respondents. This is a conversation wherein the interviewer asks questions and the respondent gives answers to the questions. An interview is a two-way verbal communication that allows an exchange of ideas and information between the interviewer and respondent. Many research scholars have made a variety of definitions of interviews used in qualitative research. Cannell and Kahn (1968) describe an interview as a conversation with a purpose. Frey and Oishi (1995) define an interview as a purposeful conversation, in which one person asks prepared questions (interviewer) and other answers (respondent). Dornyei (2007) argues that an interview is a natural and socially acceptable way of gathering data as it can be used in different situations that cover a range of topics. According to some research scholars (Bell, 1987; Berg, 2007), interviewing is adopted as a tool for social research because it facilitates getting direct explanations for human actions through a comprehensive speech interaction (Alshenqeeti, 2014). Maccoby and Maccoby (1954) define an interview as an “interchange in which one person … attempts to elicit information or expressions of opinion or belief from another person or persons”. Goode and Hatt (1952) define an interview as a close face-to-face conversation or a dialogue between the interviewer and interviewee. According to Young (1960), the interview may be regarded as a systematic method by which a person can enter into the inner life experience of a comparative stranger (respondent). From the above definitions, it can be said that in-depth interview applied in qualitative research describes the meaning of central themes in the world of the respondent’s life. The main task of in-depth interviewing is to understand the meaning of what the respondents say (Kvale, 1996). In addition, interviews are a useful tool for getting the story behind a respondent’s experiences and the interviewer can pursue deeper information around the topics of interest. Interviews may also be useful as follow-up to certain respondents to further investigate their responses (McNamara, 1999). However, within the framework of the above definitions, an in-depth interview (referred to as depth interview) can be defined as an unstructured interviewing and

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also a method of qualitative data collection (Bowling, 1997). An in-depth interview is a conversation between the interviewer and respondent that focuses on the respondent’s perception of self, life, and experience and is expressed in his/her own words. This is a qualitative research method that encompasses the conduct of intensive individual interviews with a few respondents to explore their perspectives on a particular issue, event, or condition. An in-depth interview is a tool that guides a conversation between two or more persons towards a particular topic of research interest. This interview method is used in various qualitative researches to gain a detailed understanding of a case (person), situation, and social phenomenon. Also, an in-depth interview is known as an unstructured interview which the researcher uses to extract information to get a holistic understanding of the respondent’s point of view. It can also be used to explore interesting areas for further investigation and involves asking respondents open-ended questions and probing wherever essential to obtain useful data (Patton, 1987). Although many research scholars have defined interview as a technique of data collection, this is mainly used in qualitative research and is grounded in interpretivism, a philosophical position closely associated with how the social world is understood, interpreted, experienced, or produced. Qualitative research aims to produce rounded understandings based on contextual and detailed data in the form of holistic analysis that can be obtained by using in-depth interviews (Mason, 1996).

Objectives of In-Depth Interview An in-depth interview is a technique of data collection in qualitative research that allows a person-to-person conversation between a respondent and a trained interviewer. An in-depth interview is called an open-ended discussion and discoveryoriented method that involves the administration of interviews with a small number of respondents. The main objective of an in-depth interview is to discover the perspectives on a particular situation, issue, and programme (Boyce & Neale, 2006). This type of interview is often unstructured that guides the interviewer in encouraging the respondents to talk about the topic of research interest. In other words, this method is used to explore and understand the respondent’s behaviours in terms of his/her point of view, feelings, and perspectives and also is a more suitable technique for describing a social phenomenon in detail. This interview technique is used for asking questions and also for the systematic recording and documenting of the responses concerned with extreme probing for deep meaning and understanding of the responses. However, the basic objectives of an in-depth interview are as follows: 1. To understand beliefs, opinions, behaviour, and experience of respondents on a particular subject. 2. To obtain contextualized and in-depth information about the research topic. 3. To collect detailed information on a topic of interest as a supplement to the data gathered by using other methods (e.g., structured questionnaire).

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4. To observe the situation of the respondents quickly and comprehensively and collect additional information. 5. To generate deeper insights and concepts (not generalizable) related to the research. 6. To extend the span of understanding about a social phenomenon under study. 7. To enrich the body of knowledge by adding new information to the research issue.

Basic Characteristics of In-Depth Interview Some basic characteristics differentiate an in-depth qualitative research interview from a regular interview. The basic characteristics of the in-depth interview are as follows:

Open-Ended Questions In an in-depth interview, open-ended questions need to be worded in order that the respondent cannot simply answer yes or no but elucidate the topic of the interview well. Many open-ended questions begin with “why” or “how”, which gives the respondent a free option to answer the questions openly by using their own words that can be easily understood regardless of some differences between the interviewer and respondent in terms of background and economic and social status.

Semi-structured Format The semi-structured format is a commonly used interview technique that mainly addresses the key themes rather than specific questions. In this interview, the interviewer uses a checklist of topics or questions to be asked. In doing so, the interviewer should have some pre-planned questions to ask the respondents during the interview. The semi-structured interview is a more focused interview than the more general unstructured one that allows the respondent a certain degree of flexibility to answer the questions leading to the generation of themes and issues as they arise. While conducting this interview, the interviewers do not insist the respondent on asking specific questions in a specific order. Rather, they allow the natural flow of questions based on the responses provided by the respondents.

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Conversational Nature An in-depth interview facilitates having a deep understanding and interpretation of the responses provided by the respondents. When the conversion takes place between the interviewer and respondent, the role of the interviewer will be of a listener primarily and smooth transitions from one topic to the next will exist there. But the interviewer will try to interpret what he/she hears and also seek clear understanding from the respondents during the interview.

Recording Responses The responses provided by the respondent will be recorded with audiotape and complemented with written notes by the interviewer. By and large, a written note includes the observations of both verbal and non-verbal behaviours as they emerge in natural situations and also immediate personal reflections about the interview topics. Besides, in-depth interviews involve not only the questions asked but also systematic recording and documenting of the responses for gaining an in-depth understanding of the responses given by the respondents. The interviewer should record the views and feelings of the interviewer that come out immediately after an interview.

Components of an In-Depth Interview Rapport Building Rapport building (a trust-based relation) is the ability to make interactional dynamics between the interviewer and respondent that are positive, relaxed, and mutually respectful. Through rapport building, the physical distance between interviewer and respondent is removed, social and cultural barriers are reduced, and an open mutual flow of ideas to and fro happens. In addition, respondents can talk freely about the study topic when they feel comfortable in the presence of the interviewer, trust them and feel secure about the confidentiality of responses provided, and do not feel judged. In reality, rapport building requires engagement in the data collection process by which the interviewer gets close to the respondents, situations, or phenomenon being studied.

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Use of Language (Words Choice) During a conversation between interviewer and respondent, the words used by them should be very simple, clearly understandable for both. Because, they may be different in terms of education, socioeconomic status, geographical location, ideological beliefs, and cultural and religious identities. In an in-depth interview, the understanding local language is very important for the interviewer so that he/she can apprehend the actual meaning of what the respondents say on a particular issue.

Use of Body Language The use of body language such as head nodding, leaning forward in an attentive position, smiling, click, and verbal cues (“I see”, “really”) helps to show interest and encouragement of the persons concerned in the interview process. In addition, regular eye contact, handshake, soft voice, and sitting up straight contribute to developing open and smooth verbal communication between the interviewer and respondent. Consequently, the possibility of obtaining more in-depth qualitative data on multiple subjective issues gets much higher.

Empathy Empathy simply refers to the capacity of a person to understand and share the feelings and experiences of another. In an in-depth interview, empathy denotes that the interviewer can understand the responses, and he can identify the respondent’s context, emotions, goals, and motivations at maximum level. So the interviewer should take an empathetic stance while seeking a deep understanding of the respondent’s feelings and emotions without judgement. He or she needs to show openness, sensitivity, respect, awareness, and responsiveness to the respondents under study. And these are very significant to encourage the respondents to speak freely and openly as well.

Open-Ended Questions At the time of undertaking an in-depth interview, open-ended questions are often asked by the interviewer that normally facilitates the emergence of descriptive or narrative information from the respondents. It contributes to a great deal in extracting deeper responses (answers) from the respondents about the topic being investigated. And the open-ended, easy, and encouraging questions can help the interviewer to get

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natural and proper responses from the respondents, which contributes to attaining research objectives.

Types of In-Depth Interview The mode of an interview is generally determined by the objectives of an interview. An in-depth interview varies from an informal conversation to a more formal interview. But, based on the use of different methods to elicit information, an in-depth interview as a data collection method may be classified into three categories such as structured, semi-structured, and unstructured (non-directive). These types of in-depth interviews are described below with a short description.

Semi-structured In-Depth Interview A semi-structured in-depth interview is a common interview technique that follows a framework to address key themes rather than specific questions. This type of interview is a blend of structured and unstructured interviews where the questions are pre-designed before the interview begins. In this interview, the interviewer gives respondents the chance of explaining particular issues through open-ended questions. Besides, the interviewer does not prefer to use a structured format which sometimes impedes the depth and richness of the responses (Bryman, 2008). While conducting this interview, a checklist of topics or questions is needed that helps to get more detailed information. In addition, the interviewer can use an interview guide developed around the issues central to the research questions. And this guide encompasses a list of topics without fixed wording or fixed ordering of questions. This type of interview is more focused than the more general and unstructured interview and is used to gain focused qualitative textual data by a detailed examination.

Structured In-Depth Interview A structured interview known as a focused interview is like a scheduled interview that uses a detailed interview schedule (e.g., questionnaire). This type of interview is a pre-planned interview where the interviewer writes down the interview questions before undertaking the interview. This mode of the interview is an effective way to keep the interview rightly focused on the target topics (Bryman, 2008). To conduct the interview, the interviewer employs a list of specific standardized questions and the respondent is asked the same questions in the same order. And close-ended questions (e.g., Yes/No; scales) are asked to get answers from the respondent, and the respondent chooses correct answers among several pre-set answers. But a structured

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in-depth interview does not apply pre-coded answers. Instead, the questions to be asked are developed as ‘open’ questions that encourage the respondent to talk at some length about the specific topics of interest. Although this interview follows the systematic use of a set of specific questions, it is not applied to collect responses to specific questions that can be compared across the whole sample. Because the responses are found as ‘subjective accounts’ rather than ‘objective answers’, the structured in-depth interviewer does not require the use of the exact wording or the exact sequence of questions (Merton et al., 1956).

Unstructured In-Depth Interview An unstructured interview is sometimes called an open-ended interview or ethnographic interview (Dornyei, 2007). This method of the interview does not follow any pre-determined set of questions. Rather, the interviewer addresses the issues as they emerge during the interview. This type of interview permits the respondents to talk about what they think and observe is suitable and important. The respondents are encouraged to talk freely about a particular topic that the interviewer feels interested in. But the interviewer must guide the conversation onto the areas of interest to the research. This is similar to a conversation in which the interviewer might ask a single question, and then, the respondent has the option as to what extent he/she will respond (Bryman, 2008). The unstructured in-depth interview allows a more relaxed atmosphere, in which the respondent can elaborate the phenomenon with flexibility and openness leading to unpredictable directions.

Preparation for an In-Depth Interview Before embarking on an in-depth interview, an interviewer needs to be well-prepared with a good and constructive plan that may lead to the desired success of the interview. In the execution of the plan in carrying out the interview, the interviewer should determine and follow several prior steps systematically, which have been put forward below:

Defining the Purpose of the Interview Before conducting an interview, the interviewer has to determine what information is required to be collected, because the information should be incorporated into the overall research framework. And the information produced by the interviews needs to be related to specific questions that the interviewer wants to answer. But the respondents need to know why they participate in an interview. So clarification as to

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why the interview will be carried out should be made well to the respondents before beginning the interview.

Making Structure of the Interview A good structure is very important before conducting an interview. Due to the lack of a structured format of the interview, an experienced and skilled interviewer may not be able enough to conduct the interview systematically. So an in-depth interview must need a good format and follow a systematic process. But the reality is that in the hands of an inexperienced interviewer, objectives attained in an interview cannot reach a satisfactory level because many important issues may be missed or interesting data about the topic can be ignored.

Scripting the Interview An in-depth interview requires a script (written text/responses to interview questions) or protocol (instrument of inquiry) for gaining the desired outcome of an interview. In the case of an effective interview, detailed questions should be prepared and reviewed with the respondents in advance to ensure that all the issues to be explored have been covered. If necessary, consultation with knowledgeable persons can be done that can result in the successful collection of data. But a possible exception to using a script in an interview may be especially with hostile or suspicious respondents. A casual approach with this type of respondents may elicit information, but a more structured interview may cause the respondents to conceal or omit the information needed to collect.

Preparing the Respondent The respondents have to be in a stable psychosomatic state and prepared for an indepth interview. Before beginning the interview, confirmation of time and place of interview will be done, and a summary of the questions or a general outline of the issues to be investigated will be reviewed in advance. Although the summary of the questions may not be the full protocol that can be given to the respondent. But it completely depends on the interviewer as a matter of his/her discretion. Moreover, respondents may indeed be busy with their works, so the researcher should delimit the role in such a way that the information can be obtained with the fullest cooperation of the respondents. But the emphasis on the critical role of the respondents in terms of their cooperation will be highly given so that the chance of getting available data along with the assurance level of data confidentiality will be increased. In addition, the

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respondents will be informed duly about how much time is required for completing the interview.

The Process for Conducting an In-Depth Interview An in-depth interview follows several general processes for its conducting which are also pursued in other social research. Generally, a plan of conducting the in-depth interview, preparation of instruments, identification and selection of respondents (samples), collection and analysis of data, and dissemination of findings are major steps in an in-depth interview process (Boyce & Neale, 2006). The details of the in-depth interview process have been presented below in brief:

Plan of Conducting Interview A good plan for successfully conducting an interview is very important. In particular, identification of the respondents in terms of sample size (i.e., how many respondents will be interviewed?), the pattern of data to be collected from the respondents, and a definite time frame are to be planned systematically. If needed, additional respondents can be identified and included in the sample during data collection thorough interview.

Preparation of Data Collection Instrument The preparation of a suitable interview protocol and instrument is imperative for data collection. An interview protocol is an instrument of inquiry that includes questions to be asked for specific information related to the aims of a study (Patton, 2015). This is also called an inquiry-based conversation regarding a particular topic (e.g., someone’s life or certain ideas and experiences). In other words, it is a set of questions that facilitate semi-structured and open-ended interviews. An interview protocol plays a significant role in guiding the administration of the interview. And interview protocol and instrument are the instructions that are followed for each interview to ensure consistency between interviews and increase the reliability of the findings.

Development of an Interview Guide An interview guide is simply a list of questions or topics that the interviewer uses to explore answers to the questions asked during the interview. Generally, it includes an informed consent form and main questions of not more than 15 to guide the interview.

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Also, probes will be included where the interviewer thinks necessary and helpful. When needed, translation of guides into local languages and test of the translation will be done. As a result, it will contribute much to collecting substantial in-depth information from the respondents.

Training for the Interviewer The interviewer should be well-experienced and skilled in collecting data as much authentic and reliable as possible. If the interviewer is inexperienced, he/she needs to be made skilled and qualified by giving proper education and training so that they can conduct the interview more effectively. If necessary, the interviewer can be engaged in learning the local language. As a result, he/she can be able to speak the local language well with the respondents. This is very essential because sometimes misinterpretation or misunderstanding of some questions or words can make hurdles to conducting a good interview that ultimately lead to the failure of the interviewer to collect more authentic and reliable data from the respondents.

Collection of Data An interview should be set up with the respondents by explaining the purpose of the interview and the reason for choosing the respondents for the interview. During conducting the interview, the time required for the interview, informed consent of the respondents, and assurance to maintain the confidentiality of information will be considered with high emphasis by the interviewer. Apart from that, the matter of note-taking or tape recording will be sincerely described to the respondents and note-taking will be done during data collection. This will facilitate the interviewer to describe and summarize the information with maximum clarity. The above issues help the respondents to be prepared in providing cooperation and information that the interviewer normally expects for attaining the purpose of the interview.

Consent of the Interviewee Before carrying out an interview, the interviewer has to get the consent of the interviewee (respondent) in the participation of an interview. After having consent, the interviewer can conduct a normal interview and make a summary of key data immediately following the interview. Aside from that, the interviewer will verify the authenticity of information delivered by the respondents, because the success of the interviewer mostly relies on the collection of data as authentic and reliable as possible.

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Analysis of Data While undertaking an interview, the interviewer needs to clarify data and develop themes and ideas in the investigation. But the collected qualitative data kept as tape recordings or editing accounts will be transcribed (making a written text of the interviews) and reviewed by using a systematic process. In addition, all interview data will be analysed (i.e., making sense of the information) based on themes or patterns as they emerge, and the findings of the interview will be disseminated for those institutions and people who are interested in getting knowledge and ideas about the issues explored through the in-depth interview.

How is an In-Depth Case Interview Carried Out? An in-depth interview is a data collection method that the interviewer uses to go deeply into some aspects of the respondent’s feelings, motives, attitudes, and life history. An in-depth interview is normally carried out face-to-face so that a rapport between the interviewer and respondent is developed. This interview is directed to get more details about the respondents under study. But effective use of this interview largely depends on the knowledge and skill of the interviewer. During the interview, body language is used to add a high level of understanding to the answers to the questions asked by the interviewer. As in-depth interviews are not ‘neutral social spaces’, the interviewer must be respectful and should maintain appropriate boundaries at all times (Macdonald & Headlam, 1986). However, an in-depth interview is more of a guided conversation carried out by using a discussion guide that facilitates the flushing out of the respondent’s views, opinions, and perceptions through open-ended questioning. This type of interview is often applied in phenomenological research studies (i.e., case study research, observational research) where researchers do not focus on the generalization of findings (data), nor do they look for the cause-effect relationships between variables. Rather, they emphasize exploration and description of a phenomenon to gain profound understanding as to the contexts being investigated.

Advantages and Disadvantages of In-Depth Case Interview Advantages An in-depth interview provides much more comprehensive information as compared to other forms of data collection like surveys and questionnaires. As a qualitative data collection method, an in-depth interview enables the interviewer to study the behaviour, feelings, and perceptions of the respondents. It enables the interviewer

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to gain more extra knowledge, insight, and detailed understanding of a concept or theme. But qualitative descriptions developed by in-depth interviews can play a vital role in suggesting possible relationships, causes, effects, and dynamic processes. An in-depth interview allows interviewers to understand a phenomenon deeply from a conversation with the respondents. This can help the researcher to get at interpretive perspective, that is, the connections and relationships a person (respondent) sees between particular events, phenomena, and beliefs. However, some advantages and disadvantages of an in-depth interview are described below:

Advantages of In-Depth Case Interview There are a considerable number of advantages of using an in-depth interview. An indepth interview allows the respondents to share their opinions without bias from other respondents. Generally, in-depth interviews are more flexible and cost-effective when carried out face-to-face or over the telephone to gain deeper knowledge and insight into specific objectives of the interview. This is the most useful form of primary inquiry and is appropriate when detailed perceptions, opinions, and attitudes are targeted to know. Also, in-depth interviews are particularly effective when the goal is to gain sensitive feedback.

Rapport and Empathy An in-depth interview requires a trust-based rapport between the respondent and interviewer. Like a guided informal conversation, an in-depth interview is more useful to make respondents feel comfortable than with the formal setting of a structured questionnaire. This interview usually provides openness, trust, and empathy between the respondent and interviewer. The establishment of good rapport leads the respondents to feel at ease that helps generate more detailed and insightful responses regarding the topic of investigation. And the respondents become able to discuss intimate and confidential issues without fear and hesitation because of rapport built with trust and confidence.

Respondent-Led Interaction An in-depth interview is an unstructured format of questioning. While conducting an interview, the interviewer can listen to what the respondent says and even can ask further questions based on what the respondents answer the questions asked before. This type of interview allows the respondents to express and explain their views in more detail than with a structured interview. As an in-depth interview is two-way verbal communication, detailed information, giving emphasis typically on the perspectives of respondents, is possible to get from the respondents.

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Scope of Follow-Up An in-depth interview allows the interviewers to gain a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon under study. This also provides the interviewer with a good opportunity to ask follow-up questions and probe for obtaining additional information. In-depth interviews contribute to generating a rich understanding of the attitudes, perceptions, and motivations of respondents. In addition, this type of interview allows the interviewer to check the responses provided by the respondents. If a respondent cannot understand the meaning of a question, the interviewer can freely rephrase it or ask follow-up questions to clarify aspects of answers that were not delivered before.

Scope of Monitoring Interview As an in-depth interview is undertaken in a face-to-face interactional situation, the interviewer can focus on body language and observe the changes in voice tone and word choice to get a deep understanding of the respondent’s perspectives. In an in-depth interview in natural settings, the body language and facial expressions of the respondents are more clearly observed and understood. And this can help the interviewer to identify, select the respondents, and also carry out the interview process easier and faster. It also promotes a higher response rate than written questions. Even it can permit clarification of questions asked in an interview and helps the use of some stimulus materials and visual aids that support the whole interview process.

Scope of a Wider Exploration An in-depth qualitative interview is a highly effective tool used to collect data in qualitative research. Because the in-depth interview is an open-ended and discoveryoriented method that helps the interviewer to explore the feelings and perspectives of respondents on particular subjects. Furthermore, it ensures a higher possibility of getting detailed background information and helps to create further questions relevant to the topic of study. Also, this method provides suitable scope for the respondents who are inclined to keep aloof from expressing their opinions publicly.

Quick Identification of Findings An in-depth interview is a very insightful technique that facilitates the researchers to identify the most valuable findings quickly and sometimes in the first interview. Besides, an in-depth interviewer does not require numerous respondents to gather useful data and procure significant insights about the respondents’ perspectives. This kind of interview is of particular benefit to the researcher as he/she prepares a qualitative research report with the study findings (i.e., knowledge, information, and new insights).

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Disadvantages of In-Depth Case Interview The effective in-depth interview can work as a powerful technique for gathering authentic information from the respondents. But if the interview is not conducted and handled carefully, it can be a source of bias that results in distorting the flow of communication. Although an in-depth interview has some advantages in collecting in-depth information, there are some significant limitations and pitfalls of using this method in qualitative data collection. The main disadvantages of the in-depth interview are described in the following manner:

Costly Approach An in-depth interview can be a bit more costly compared to other methods used in data collection. Although a large volume of qualitative data can be gathered through an in-depth interview, they are considered expensive to collect and also to analyse. Even the issue of collecting quality data is of significant concern in the study. While using an in-depth interview as the way of gathering data, interviewers must demonstrate that the purpose of the study is to uncover and describe the perspectives of respondents on particular events. So the collection of detailed information through in-depth interviews needs a substantial amount of money and resource.

Issue of Time-Consuming The conduct of an in-depth interview is a time-consuming process that requires careful and systematic planning. Some planning issues are the development of interview structure, style, setting, and recording of the data. So an in-depth interview requires more time because of its detailed nature of questions and responses. Moreover, identification and selection of the respondents and collection and analysis of qualitative data take a prolonged time. Along with these, an in-depth interview needs to be transcribed, organized, analysed, and reported by providing answers to specific research questions. It sometimes requires extra time, especially while an interviewer tries to go deeply into some aspects of the respondent’s feelings, motives, attitudes, life history, and so on. Collection, analysis, and interpretation of qualitative data require a considerable length of time for the investigators who want to get in-depth information from the respondents.

Bias in an In-Depth Interview An in-depth interview is a less standardized form of an interview that relies more on the questioning style and choice of subject matter. As a result, the interviewer

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may introduce his/her personal biases into the interviewing process. And the interviewer may make judgements based on his/her preconceived ideas instead of uncovering the character or real personality traits of the respondents. Both interviewer and respondent cannot be fully free of bias because of their different pattern of beliefs, attitudes, values, and perceptions. In particular, subjective matters relating to feelings, ideologies, beliefs, perceptions, and perspectives may undermine the strength of authenticity and consistency of data collected. As a collection of detailed data is largely based on the prior experiences of the interviewer, bias in selecting the respondents, designing data collection, developing instruments, and conducting interviews may be affected by the interviewer’s personal bias. Also, due to interviewer bias, the reliability of data collected by unstructured interviews may be impaired. This can take place when the values of the interviewer interfere with the results produced by the interview. On the contrary, the respondent may also provide biased or unreliable information. Even the respondent’s desire for having incentives to take part in an interview may cloud the objectivity of the interview.

Inconsistency an In-Depth Interview When an interview involves personal interaction, effective cooperation between interviewer and respondent is of high significance. During an interview, respondents sometimes may be unwilling or feel uncomfortable to share those issues that the interviewer expects to explore. On the other hand, the interviewer may not ask those questions that evoke long narratives from respondents due to the lack of expertise in the interview or sound familiarity with the local language that the respondent uses. Besides, the interviewer may not properly understand the responses to the questions or elements of the conversation. Sometimes, respondents may have a good reason not to be considered truthful while providing information (Douglas, 1976). All these matters can lead to inconsistency in the entire process of the interview.

Lack of Interpersonal Skills and Training To conduct an in-depth interview fruitfully, the interviewer needs to be more qualified so that he/she can collect insightful information and prevent some data loss. But many interviewers do not possess some interpersonal skills required to conduct unstructured interviews. In that case, proper training may be needed for the interviewer who can undertake unstructured interviews with responsibility, patience, and motivation. Moreover, the interviewer needs some useful skills such as an adaptation to different personalities and emotional states, rapport building with trustful behaviour, and culture-specific styles by emphasizing the respondent’s perspectives. Sometimes, some special skills become essential to elicit effective and reliable data from the special respondents. If the interviewer is not adequately knowledgeable, experienced,

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and skilful, the entire process of an interview can be of little or no success. In particular, an inexperienced interviewer may be unable to keep the questions properly focused on the issues that may provide the right information.

Problem of Generalization The problem of reliability or validity is a major criticism in an in-depth interview. As qualitative (non-numerical) data are subjective, it is difficult to apply conventional standards for measuring the reliability and validity of data. Data collected by using qualitative methods are mostly subjective and qualitative (i.e., opinions, feelings, views, perceptions) and are also thought of as rich in description of participants, places, and conversations. But these data are not easily handled by statistical procedures. In addition, the contexts, situations, events, and interactions cannot be replicated to any extent and the generalization of findings (data) cannot be made to a wider context as well. The establishment of generalizable knowledge (results) is not possible especially due to the small sample size, non-random sampling, and the subjective nature of data. Moreover, accusations of the unreliability of data are very common in qualitative studies because different results may be achieved on a different day or with different participants (people).

Conclusions In conclusion, it can be stated that in-depth interview is being extensively used in social research and is considered a powerful tool in collecting qualitative data. An in-depth interview is a useful method which the researchers use to collect qualitative data from the respondents that lead to the generation of intensive knowledge about the topic under investigation. Generally speaking, an in-depth interview is very significant to unfold opinions, experiences, values, and other relevant issues of the respondents. According to some research scholars, an interview is always goaloriented and predominantly used for formulating hypotheses or theory building as opposed to hypothesis testing. It helps the researcher to know the views and ideas of the respondents taking part in a research study. However, the researchers who are so much interested in using this method for data collection need to be familiarized with the techniques of data collection from going through the literature of research methods, followed by gaining hands-on experiences about the techniques. Furthermore, they should acquire better ideas as to the factors that inevitably affect the interview process in different situations or with different persons. In fine, it can be said that to make a success of the in-depth interview, researcher or interviewer should be very much systematic, expert, conscious, and sensitive to all the issues concerned with the entire interview process.

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References Alshenqeeti, H. (2014). Interviewing as a data collection method: A critical review. English Linguistics Research, 3(1). Bell, J. (1987). Doing your research project: A guide for first-time researchers in education and social science. Open University Press. Berg, B. L. (2007). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences. Pearson. Berry, R. S. Y. (1999). Collecting data by in-depth interviewing. A paper presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, the University of Sussex at Brighton, September 2–5. Bowling, A. (1997). Research methods in health: Investigating health and health services. Open University Press. Boyce, C., & Neale, P. (2006). Conducting in-depth interviews: A guide for designing and conducting in-depth interviews for evaluation input. In Pathfinder international tool series— Monitoring and evaluation–2. Bryman, A. (2008). Social research methods (3rd ed). Oxford University Press, New York. Cannell, C. F. & Kahn, R. L. (1968). Interviewing. In G. Lindzey, & A. Aronson (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (Vol. 2). Research methods. Addison Wesley. Dornyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics: quantitative, qualitative and mixed methodologies. Oxford University Press. Douglas, J. D. (1976). Creative interviewing. Sage Publications Inc. Frey, J. H., & Oishi, S. M. (1995). How to conduct interviews by telephone and in person. Sage Publications Inc. Goode, W. J., & Hatt, P. K. (1952). Methods in social research. McGraw-Hill. Holstein, J. A., & Gubrium, J. F. (1995). The active interview. Sage Publications Inc. Hughes, C. (n.d.). An introduction to qualitative research. Department of Sociology, University of Warwick. Kvale, S. (1996). Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Sage Publications Inc. Maccoby, E. E., & Maccoby, N. (1954). The interview: A tool of social science. Theory and methodIn G. Lindzey (Ed.), Handbook of social psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 449–487). Addison-Wesley. Macdonald, S., & Headlam, N. (1986). Research methods handbook: Introductory guide to research methods for social research. The Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES). Mason, J. (1996). Qualitative Researching. Sage publications Inc. Maykut, P., & Morehouse, R. (1994). Beginning qualitative research: A philosophic and practical guide. The Falmer Press. McNamara, C. (1999). General guidelines for conducting interviews. Authenticity consulting, LLC. Retrieved from: https://managementhelp.org/businessresearch/interviews.htm Merton, R. K., Gollin, A. E., & Kendall, P. L. (1956). The focused interview: A manual of problems and procedures. The Free Press. Patton, M. Q. (1987). How to use qualitative methods in evaluation. Sage Publications Inc. Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (4th ed.). Sage Publications, Inc. Young, P. V. (1960). Scientific social surveys and research (3rd ed.). Prentice-Hall Publications.

Chapter 25

Observation Shekh Farid

Abstract This chapter discusses ‘observation’ as a data collection method in social research. Observation is considered to be a scientific one when it serves a particular research objective, is systematically planned and recorded, and is subjected to check its validity and reliability. While using this method, the researcher may actively participate in the group being studied or be a detached emissary from the group, he may use precision instruments prepared in advance or be flexible, and he may also observe in a controlled environment or a natural setting. The greatest advantage of using this method is that it allows researchers to collect data through participating in observed phenomena when they occur. But, the method may not be truly objective since the observed data are inevitably filtered through the interpretive lens of the observer. Hence, the researcher requires to be more cautious in selecting the approach to observation and recording the observed phenomena. However, observation has become a widely used method in social sciences, mostly in the study of human behaviour. Keywords Observation · Social research · Participant observation · Data collection · Social sciences

Introduction In everyday life, we constantly observe the things we see around us. Many of our behaviours, attitudes, and beliefs are formed by the way we observe things, events, and phenomena. Many of the discoveries and inventions in the modern world are, therefore, the results of the observation of scientists. Apart from being a regular activity of our daily life, observation has become a scientific tool of obtaining facts regarding what is going on around us. One of the most important steps of any social investigation is the collection of data either from primary or secondary sources through different methods. Observation is proclaimed to be one of the methods of S. Farid (B) Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_25

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gathering data from primary sources. However, observation in our ordinary life is not similar to the observation used in scientific inquiry as the latter is done in a concerted way with a specific aim and is recorded and interpreted systematically to yield valid and reliable data. Observation takes different forms depending on the nature of the information sought and participants to be observed. It is widely used in behavioural sciences along with physical and natural sciences. Observation has some advantages over other methods of collecting data. While employing this method, researchers can observe, record, and analyse the events, actions, and behaviour of individuals and groups in a natural setting, allowing them to generate more theoretical and conceptual accounts (Smith, 2009). It has some limitations as well, for it largely depends on the interpretative lens and the ability of the observer to understand the fact. Therefore, the observation researcher needs to have some specific qualities which may not seem to be obvious while using other methods. This section aims to discuss ‘observation’ as a direct method of collection of data in social research. After analysing the conceptual framework of observation, it highlights some widely used types and tools of observation. Moreover, it also discusses when and why we use the method in a social investigation and the qualities needed for an observation researcher. Finally, it looks at the advantages and limitations of using this method for obtaining research data.

Meanings and Definitions of Observation We use the term ‘observation’ in our ordinary life when we watch something keenly and consciously. Observation is simply taken as watching phenomena, behaviour, or things with a specific purpose. The dictionary definitions of the term also denote so. Macmillan Dictionary defines ‘observation’ as “the process of watching someone or something carefully, in order to find something out”. The Oxford Dictionary also looks at ‘observation’ as “the action or process of closely observing or monitoring something or someone”. It also views the term as “a statement based on something one has seen, heard and noticed”. While Macmillan Dictionary emphasizes ‘watching’, the latter uses the term ‘monitoring’ as synonymous with observation and includes ‘hearing’ in its process. The Concise Oxford Dictionary, however, includes the term ‘noting’ while defining ‘observation’. It denotes it as “accurate watching and noting of phenomena as they occur in nature concerning cause and effect or mutual relationship”. In social research, observation is used in a much wider sense. As noted by Payne and Payne (2004), “observation in a strict sense of simply watching people is little used in social research (except as an unobtrusive method) both because human behaviour is too complex to record in this way, and because it isolates researchers from what is being studied, so preventing participation or deeper exploration of understandings through conversation or interview” (Payne & Payne, 2004). Observation is different from watching or seeing; whereas watching is merely an eye affair, observation is more than an eye affair. Authors on social research emphasized more on developing and discussing techniques for observational methods rather

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than giving a precise definition of ‘observation’. Even, some authors defined it from the narrower sense including only the visual aspect in the process. Young and Schmid (1984) define observation as “systematic viewing, coupled with consideration of the seen phenomena, in which main consideration must be given to the larger unit of activity, by which the specific observed phenomena occurred”. Their definition lacks wider acceptance as it emphasizes only ‘viewing’, though it includes ‘consideration’ as an important aspect in observation. To be precise, observation, as a primary method of data collection in social research, does not confine itself to visual data collection; rather, it includes the collection of data through other senses (i.e., smelling, taste, touching, hearing, feeling) and, most importantly, through using one’s capacity to realize the fact. Involving a much wider aspect, the term has been defined by Walliman (2006), who viewed observation as “records, usually of events, situations or things, of what you have experienced with your senses, perhaps with the help of an instrument (e.g., camera, tape recorder, microscope, etc.)”. This definition emphasizes recording of sensory experience with the help of instruments but lacks clarity on its very nature to be ‘systematic’ and ‘purposeful’. Keeping all these into consideration, we define ‘observation’ as a systematic method of collecting primary data through purposeful and accurate sensation, consideration, and recording of things, behaviour, and phenomena. We use the term ‘purposeful’ to differentiate it from the ordinary process of watching and ‘accurate’ to put pressure only on the collection of reliable data. Using ‘sensation’, we mean the collection of data through sensory experiences. The observer, at first, perceives the phenomena, behaviour, or things through sense organs and then considers over what he perceives and recognizes the facts by drawing upon his experiences, skills, and thoughts. It essentially includes noting down and recording the observed phenomena as they come to the observer’s perception as facts or evidence for research. The whole process will be systematic, not haphazard. In social research, it is thought to be a scientific one only when it is deliberately done, serves a specific purpose of research, and is recorded and presented in a systematic manner keeping in view its reliability and validity as a scientific method. Therefore, our definition of ‘observation’ necessarily includes the following features: (i) it is a method of collecting primary data in research, (ii) it collects data through sensory experience to serve specific research objective, (iii) the process is coupled with consideration over what is experienced through using sense organs, (iv) the whole process is deliberately done and recorded systemically, and (v) the observed facts are subjected to check the validity and reliability. Whereas other methods, interview and focus group discussions (FGDs), for example, obtain information through direct talk with the persons, in observation the investigator gathers facts by observing the phenomena and recording what he observes. While observing behaviours of the human being, a researcher is likely to find out what the person does rather than what he says he does.

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Types of Observation Observational methods vary depending on the nature of data, and persons, behaviour, and phenomena to be observed. Authors on social research mainly categorized observation into participant and non-participant types (see, e.g., Crano et al., 2002; Flick, 2009; Howitt & Cramer, 2011; Payne & Payne, 2004; Walliman, 2006; Yin, 2011) depending on the level of involvement of the researcher and into structured and relatively unstructured observation (see, e.g., Crano et al., 2002; Howitt & Cramer, 2011; Payne & Payne, 2004; Poster, 2006) based on the use of formal and precision instruments in observation. Some authors also mentioned two other kinds of observation—controlled and non-controlled (see, e.g., Kothari, 2010; Smith, 2009). We broadly discuss scientific observation into the following types:

Structured and Relatively Unstructured Observation Observation may either be a structured or relatively unstructured one. When investigators observe the phenomena by defining in advance the categories under which the information is to be collected and recorded, the way of recording, the condition of observation, and the unit to be observed, we call it ‘structured observation’. The coding system is very common in this type of research which allows the researcher to focus on a very limited and explicit portion of behaviours (Crano et al., 2002). Structured observation is more appropriate to use in a descriptive study. The essential characteristic of more structured observation is that the categories to be used in observation, what to be observed, and how the instances of behaviour are to be assigned to the categories are specified clearly before data collection begins (Poster, 2006). These are done by the use of data collection tools—like observational protocol and field notes. A researcher, for example, while using the structured observational methods to know the behaviour pattern of the juvenile delinquents in a correctional setting, can best proceed on by developing an observational protocol categorizing which aspects of behaviour he is willing to study, such as mode, way of talking, body language, overt behaviour, and emotion. Many researchers developed structured systems to observe the behaviour of different groups. Observation may also be a relatively unstructured one. It is quite adverse to the structured observational method. Whereas in structured observation, unit of observation, categorization of information, condition of observation, and mode of recording are clearly defined in advance, in relatively unstructured observation, there is no prepared guideline on what and how to be observed and recorded. We call it relatively unstructured observation as a completely unstructured observation may not be a scientific one, for, observation, in a true sense, becomes scientifically meaningful only when it is done in a concerted and systematic manner. In relatively unstructured observation, no hard and fast rules are laid down as the investigator does not

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know in advance which aspect would be more relevant to his study and his realization about the problem might also change over time during observation. Unstructured observation is employed mostly in the exploratory study and when we want to develop the hypothesis to be tested by further study. An investigator, for instance, may use relatively unstructured observation to know the situation of prisoners and draw hypotheses based on data yielded by the use of the technique. The methods are sometimes seen as lacking objectivity than structured observation, because without having a clear theoretical framework, the research may not be able to observe and record the behaviours or phenomena in a reliable and repeatable way (Jupp, 2006). He describes this type of observation as ‘casual’ or ‘informal’ observation.

Controlled and Non-controlled Observation While using observational methods in social research, we also talk about two other types—controlled and non-controlled observation. Controlled observation is characterized by the use of pre-arranged precision (mechanical) instruments, standardized conditions, and control over the phenomena or behaviour to be observed. Usually, controlled observation takes place in a laboratory under controlled conditions (especially in experimental research), whereas non-controlled observation is employed in exploratory research (Kothari, 2010). In controlled observation, the investigators use standardized conditions (in addition to mechanical aids), select representative samples, and make attempts to correct sampling errors to yield more scientifically accurate data. As a precision instrument, the investigators utilize, wherever possible, laboratory setup. They may also use a checklist, camera, sociometric scales, or maps. The major pitfall of the use of controlled observation is that the persons to be observed may not behave naturally in a controlled laboratory environment. We can use, for example, controlled observation to observe the impact of play therapy on a group of children and observe the behaviour of two groups, one of which (experimental group) is brought under the therapy keeping the other group (non-controlled group) out of the therapy. Non-controlled observation is, in contrast, simple and devoid of all the instruments and conditions used in controlled observation. When observation takes place in a natural setting without having to use precision instruments and external interferences, we term the way of observation as ‘non-controlled observation’. A researcher, for example, is willing to know the situation of people living in extreme poverty in a rural community, he should plan to observe their situation visiting the area. He does not need to use any standardized condition and control over their behaviours and life pattern.

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Participant, Non-participant, and Disguised Observation In participant observation, the investigator actively participates in the activities of the people of his study so that he can experience what the people experience by getting closer to them. He shares in, to a greater or lesser degree, and records the life, behaviour, and activities of the people he is studying. Participant observation, as defined by Jupp (2006), is a qualitative method of studying a social phenomenon, whereby the researcher participates in the ordinary life of a social setting keeping in the record of his observations and experiences. The researcher does not necessarily carry out the same task the members of the group do, rather he participates and shares in their activities so that he can closely look at and record their activities. Participant observation is believed to be the most popular method for collecting field data in an ethnographic study (Howitt & Cramer, 2011). Scientists also use it in the study of sub-cultures (Flick, 2009). For instance, when an investigator is willing to know the culture and behaviour of an ethnic community living in an isolated area, he can best start by staying with them over time and participating in their activities. The main pitfall of participant observation is that the investigator may lose his identity as an observer and get biased while getting actively involved in the culture of the group. Besides, the conscious behaviour of the people may hamper their naturalness. In some cases, adopting participant observation methods is less preferred considering the required time, resources, and security of the researcher. In non-participant observation, the observer plays the role of a detached emissary rather than getting actively involved in the group he is observing. The investigator does not share in the activities of the people he is studying, rather he remains an outsider of the group to observe and record the facts at the time they occur. Suppose, a researcher is willing to know the health-seeking behaviour of people living in a slum area, he may choose to visit the slum and observe their behaviours being a non-participant observer instead of participating in their lives. At times, the researcher may need to keep the people he is studying unaware of his presence and identity intending to get the actual behaviour or phenomena taking place in a natural setting. The investigator may also be unable to observe directly, or the persons to be observed may not allow him to observe. In these cases, the investigator may choose to keep him in disguise and observe the behaviour keeping his identity unknown to them. Hence, we talk of another kind of non-participant observation—disguised observation. In disguised observation, the researcher observes the behaviour and phenomena in a way that his identity and presence remain unknown to the observed people. You would have heard the story of king Harun ar-Rashid who used to observe the situation of general people in disguise which is the best example of disguised observation. The researcher may assume diverse roles depending on the degree to which he participates in the activities of the group he is observing: the complete observer, the observer-as-participant, the participant-as-observer, and the complete participant (Flick, 2009; Walliman, 2006). As a ‘complete participant’, he participates actively with the group, whereas as a ‘complete observer’, he plays the role of a detached

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emissary and uses unobtrusive techniques. As an ‘observer-as-participant’, he mainly plays the role of an observer with little participation in the activities of the group, whereas as a ‘participant-as-observer’, he takes an active part in the events keeping them aware of his identity and role. While discussing the types of observational methods, it should be made clear that both participant and non-participant observation could be either of controlled or the non-controlled type and also of structured or partially structured one. Whatever approach to observation a researcher adopts, he must do it systematically and maintain a record of what he is observing.

Recording and Use of Data Collection Tools in Observation While employing observational methods, we use ‘observational protocol’ or ‘observation guide’ as data collection tools. An observational protocol includes both descriptive notes (persons, events, and activities to be studied) and reflective notes (perception, feelings, and thoughts of the researcher), as well as time, place, and date of field setting of the study (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). In an ethnographic study, the observation researcher also uses ‘field note’ as a data collection tool, which reduces the just-observed persons, places, and events to written accounts (Emerson et al., 2001). Bernard (2011) discussed four kinds of field notes to be used in the ethnographic study: field jottings, a diary, a log, and field notes proper. Since note-taking is inevitably a selective endeavour (given that researcher only notes what seems significant to him), it is crucial to choose what to be recorded or ignored (Ciesielska et al., 2018). Observation researchers also use the photograph or other audio-visual recording devices to ensure a ‘complete record’ and take notes based on the record. Recording of observed phenomena might be of two types: descriptive (recording exactly what happened) and analytical (recording based on judgement and assumption on what is observed). Codes—where observed actions and events are recorded in the form of numbers and symbols—can be used to make the recording process easier and record much data in a short period. Codes are used when observation categories and things to be observed are explicit and known in advance (Sarantakos, 1998). In the case where spot recording or note-taking is not possible, the researcher must record or take notes later based on his memory or recorded information.

When and Why Using Observation Method for Data Collection Although considerable studies were conducted within the artificial settings in the laboratory, a growing number of investigations today aim at studying behaviour in natural settings (Crano et al., 2002). Usually, we prefer to use observation when we tend to know the natural behaviours that take place in a particular setting. For

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instance, when a researcher aims to gather information regarding hospital negligence, he must visit the area of his study and observe the behaviour of healthcare providers taking place in the hospital. It is widely used in the ethnographic study and the study of sub-cultures. Observational methods become inevitable when events, actions, or circumstances are thought to be major sources of information (Bickman & Rog, 1998). Observational techniques are also employed where behaviour is repeated. In some social inquiries, observation is inevitable for the collection of accurate data, especially when researchers are likely to know the situation of a particular community. A researcher, for example, while willing to know the reaction of a social group towards some social stimuli, shall prefer to observe their reaction, rather than asking questions on how they react towards the stimuli. Usually, we use observational methods in qualitative studies. But, at times, observational studies can also refer to statistical studies (Yin, 2011). For example, we may be likely to observe how many people enter into a religious institution and quantitatively express those observed data through the statistical formula. This quite happens in experimental research. Observation can be used to acquire data pertinent to the formulated hypothesis for it to be tested; it may also be used to have the insight to formulate a hypothesis for an intended study. Sometimes, we are likely to study the behaviour of some people who cannot express their feelings or give verbal reports properly because of plain reasons—children and challenged persons for example. Observation is particularly used in the study of non-verbal behaviour. Observation may solely be used as a data collection technique; it may, however, also be used as supplementary to other methods. Today, observation is widely used concurrently with other data collection methods to supplement information from other sources and give an in-depth picture of the phenomena.

Qualities of an Observation Researcher In social sciences, observing the behaviour of the human being is not an easy task since people do not very often behave the same way, even in the same circumstance. The success of observation research depends on the knowledge, skills, training, beliefs, attitudes, and emotions of the researchers. Therefore, the observation researcher needs to possess some specific qualities to find out accurate data. First of all, the observer should be objective and free from personal bias. His personal beliefs, attitudes, and emotions should not enter into the observation process, and he should record how things are rather than how he believes. In this regard, he must be non-judgemental and able to record what he observes, mostly simultaneous events, quickly and sharply, and choose only accurate data. This requires creativity and skills in using shorthand-like symbols (Payne & Payne, 2004). Thus, an observation researcher needs to have good eyesight and the ability to understand reality. Since observation depends on the sensory experiences of the observer, the observation researcher needs to be physically and mentally fit and able to use sense organs to find out the facts. In some studies, observation largely relies on the memory of

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the observer. Therefore, the observation researcher needs to be intelligent and have a sharp memory. Previous experience in observation, the ability to get along with others, and good knowledge of the subject to be studied are also of paramount importance (Sarantakos, 1998). Apart from these, a good observer is always goal-oriented and able to pay close attention to the behaviours, things, or phenomena being studied.

Advantages and Limitations of Using Observation Method Observation as a data collection method has some distinct advantages over other methods. Sometimes, researchers aim to find out facts that cannot be collected using other methods. Employing observational techniques is inevitable when the behaviours, events, or phenomena require to be studied in the place they occur. Perhaps, the greatest advantage of utilizing this method is that it allows the investigator to record the phenomena directly as they take place and the behaviour as it happens, whereas other methods, interview and focus group discussions (FGDs), for example, absolutely depend on participants’ ability and desire to expose the fact. Another important advantage of using this method is that data gathered from other sources can be checked and supplemented by the observational data (Poster, 2006). We may use observational data to check and compare with the data found by using other methods. We may also use observation as supplementary to other methods as it does not impose any barrier to the simultaneous use of other methods. A researcher, for example, intends to know if women are being empowered with the assets transferred to them through a project, he may collect information through face-to-face interviews with them. In addition, he can use observational methods concurrently with the interview, for investigation of the actual behaviour pattern of the women is subjected to observing them. People, at times, express their attitudes, thoughts, and feelings through non-verbal communication, such as facial expressions, movements, and gestures (Neuman, 2007). Using observational methods is undoubtedly superior to other methods in the study of these non-verbal behaviours. In addition to these, the respondents may not be willing to cooperate with the interviewers. They may not be able to speak for themselves and therefore cannot take part in interviews or questionnaires: mentally retarded persons, young children, babies, and animals are obvious examples (Poster, 2006). Even, the interviewers may not be able to understand the language of the respondents. In these cases, however, observational methods are considered to be the best data collection methods. Using observational methods is also advantageous when the real scenario of a social situation can be observed and revealed only by the researchers themselves than by the respondents (Poster, 2006). There are also some disadvantages of using observation as a data collection method. Observation is not always truly objective as it relies on the observational skills of researchers; even observation of the same phenomena or behaviour by two observers will not always be the same. Apart from this, the researcher’s own beliefs, values, prior knowledge, and perception may prejudice the process—from sensation and retention to perception. Hence, data found from the observation of two

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observers cannot be compared easily and are difficult to check validity and reliability. Another limitation of using this method is that people do not always behave the same way even in the same circumstance. When people are being observed, they may consciously or unconsciously change the way they behave, which may not represent the actual account of how they behave in a natural setting (Poster, 2006). There are also challenges with the procedure of observation. Recording exactly what the researcher observes, remembering field notes, writing down quotes accurately in the field notes, and keeping away from being overwhelmed with information remain challenging (Creswell, 2007). On the other hand, observation can also be very timeconsuming and difficult when the activities, events, and behaviours are not constant— the observer may require to wait so long for activities to happen or he may find it difficult to record when so much happen at once (Walliman, 2006). Moreover, observational data are difficult to quantify and present statistically. Another limitation of using the method is to define a role for the observers that will be more effective to find out the accurate information (Flick, 2009). While using observational methods, the researcher may also have difficulty in gaining entry into some situations or in his phenomena of study (such as in the case of studying a powerful group). He may also face difficulty in observing sensitive behaviour, and in many cases, he will not be allowed to observe (e.g., sexual behaviour). Furthermore, observational methods cannot be used in case of irregular or sudden events, like a disaster, and in case of events that happened in the past. Despite the limitations of using observation, it is a widely used and inevitable (in some cases) method of acquiring facts in social research.

Conclusions The success of a social investigation largely depends on the use of an effective and suitable method of gathering research data. Observation is an important method of gaining primary facts in social research through sensory experience (i.e., watching, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling, etc.). For observational methods to be scientifically meaningful, the data obtained through sensory experience should be recorded systematically so that they can be subsequently analysed for research purpose and their validity and reliability can be ensured. Observation may be used as the only method of data collection in a particular study; it might also be used to gather supplementary data that would interpret and qualify or add value to the findings obtained by using other methods. Observation is advantageous over the other methods because it allows researchers to observe the events or phenomena in the environment in which they occur. However, while using observational methods, the researcher needs to select the approach to be used and mode of recording carefully.

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References Bernard, H. R. (2011). Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (5th ed.). AltaMira Press. Bickman, L., & Rog, D. J. (1998). Handbook of applied social research methods. Sage Publications Inc. Ciesielska, M., Boström, K. W., & Öhlander, M. (2018). Observation methods. In M. Ciesielska & D. Jemielniak (Eds.), Qualitative methodologies in organization studies (pp. 33–52). Palgrave Macmillan. Crano, W. D., Brewer, M. B., & Lac, A. (2002). Principles and methods of social research (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Sage Publications. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design : Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Sage. Emerson, R., Fretz, R., & Shaw, L. (2001). Participant observation and fieldnotes. In P. Atkinson, A. Coffey, S. Delamont, J. Lofland, & L. Lofland (Eds.), Handbook of ethnography (pp. 351–368). Sage. Flick, U. (2009). An introduction to qualitative research (4th ed.). Sage Publications. Howitt, D., & Cramer, D. (2011). Introduction to research methods in psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson Educaion Limited. Jupp, V. (2006). The sage dictionary of social research methods. Sage Publications. Kothari, C. R. (2010). Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Age International (P) Limited, Publishers. Neuman, W. (2007). Basics of social researh: Quantitativa and qualitative approaches (2nd ed.). Pearson education Inc. Payne, G., & Payne, J. (2004). Key concepts in social research. Sage Publications. Poster, P. (2006). Observational research. In R. Sapsford & V. Jupp (Eds.), Data collection and analysis (2nd ed., pp. 57–72). Sage Publications. Sarantakos, S. (1998). Social research (2nd ed.). Palgrave. Smith, R. (2009). Doing social work research. Open University Press. Walliman, N. (2006). Social research methods. Sage Publications. Yin, R. K. (2011). Qualitative research from start to finish. The Guildford Press. Young, P. V., & Schmid, C. F. (1984). Scientific social survey and research (4th ed.). Prentice-Hall Inc.

Chapter 26

Focus Group Discussion Niaz Ahmed Khan and Shireen Abedin

Abstract This chapter provides a short description of the focus group discussion - an important data collection method in qualitative research. The chapter begins with a quote from a focus group discussion that helps in understanding the essence of the technique with a description of how and where it is done. The chapter discusses the moderator’s role in the focus group discussion with his/her key qualifications. The discussion includes the rationale when this method is used in qualitative research. The chapter then narrates the steps of conducting a focus group discussion with a brief template. It also provides some practical tips on how to conduct a successful focus group discussion. Towards the end of this chapter, there is a section that details the pros and cons of focus group discussion. Keyword Social research · Qualitative research · Moderator’s role · Group discussion · Focus group discussion

An Introduction to the Focus Group Method Faruq: Being able to earn money is empowerment. Aliya: Empowerment is when girls are allowed to make their own decisions. Researcher: What’s empowerment? Hasan: When an older person respects your opinions and feelings. Dola: When your parents treat you just like your brothers and give you the same things. Meghla: When boys and girls are treated as equals. The above quotes are from a focus group discussion session with young Bangladeshi adolescents aged between eleven and nineteen in a slum located in Banani, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The study was conducted as part of research to gauge N. A. Khan (B) Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] S. Abedin E2E Research & Consultancy, Dhaka, Bangladesh © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_26

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and understand how adolescent development and empowerment are interlinked, interpreted, and given meaning to by adolescents in Bangladesh. The findings of the study show that adolescents’ comprehension of empowerment and development are formed through multiple forms of social processes which in turn determine the corresponding responses to these concepts. The methodology used for data collection was focus group discussion. Thus, from the above-mentioned quote, it is visible that using the focus group methodology offers researchers an opportunity to listen to people and learn from them. The use of focus groups as a tool to gather qualitative information dates back to the period before World War II. In 1926, Emory Bogardus made the first use of group interviews in his social psychological research to develop a social distance scale (Wilkinson, 2004). Sociologist Robert Merton’s first introduction focus group methodology was in the years following World War II, and eventually, in 1956 he wrote a book titled The Focused Interview. Since the 1950s, while focus groups have become a common methodology used by marketers, it was not until the 1980s that focus groups were rediscovered by social scientists. Despite sociologists calling this technique “group interviews”, these were essentially what we know today as ‘focus group discussions’.

The Nature and Characteristics of Focus Group Discussions What is an FGD? At the simplest level, a focus group is an informal discussion among a group of selected individuals about a particular topic (Wilkinson, 2004). A focus group is a form of qualitative research, in which a group of (usually homogenous) people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. The sessions are conducted in an interactive and engaging setting where participants are free to talk with other group members. One of the key defining features of focus groups is that it is a group of individuals having some common interest or characteristics, who are brought together by a moderator, who uses the group and its interaction (among members and with the moderator) as a way to gain information about a specific issue. Focus group discussions are perceived and practised within the spirit of total participation of all involved during the session. How is it done? Methodologically, focus group discussions involve a group of 8–12 people who come from similar social and cultural backgrounds or who have similar experiences or concerns, but are usually unrelated to each other. While groups containing fewer than 8 individuals are often unlikely to create or facilitate the impetus and group dynamics necessary for a successful session, groups of more than 12 participants may feel overcrowded and may not be conducive to a cohesive and natural discussion (Dachler,

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1997; Fern, 1982). Participants for a focus group discussion session are selected in a manner that they have certain characteristics in common (such as socioeconomic status, demographics, and lifestyle factors) that relate to the main issue/topic under consideration for the focus group. They need to go through a careful screening process to meet certain criteria, such as they should have had adequate exposure or experience with, and/or understanding of the concept/issue/product being discussed. These participants are then brought together in a convenient and comfortable setting to chat on a specific issue with the help of an experienced moderator, where they engage in an interactive dialogue. It is important to note that commonality among group members avoids interactions and conflicts among group members on side issues (Nelson & Frontczak, 1988). Thus, a female focus group should not bring together young adolescents, young mothers, and elderly women because their lifestyles and situations are significantly different. Moreover, it is important to consider the social and cultural environment and framework of where the focus groups are being conducted. For instance, in Bangladesh, separate focus groups need to be conducted for males and females, as mixing the two genders in a single discussion session would often yield minimal to guarded to zero responses from the female participants. Where is it done? The physical setting of the focus group is another important feature that needs to be considered. A relaxed, informal atmosphere is needed to ensure that the participants feel comfortable and are willing to respond spontaneously and openly. Typically, focus groups last between 1 and 2 h (may extend to three hours, in case of extended sessions), and during this time, the moderator engages in rapport building with the participants and examines, in-depth, their beliefs, feelings, ideas, opinions, behaviours, attitudes, and knowledge regarding the topics that are part of the discussion. Focus groups are usually held in central locations, such as the moderators’ homes or rented spaces. They are also invariably recorded, on videotapes and audiotapes, for later replay, transcription, and analysis. Audio recording of the sessions is common in Bangladesh, as the costs of video recordings are significantly high. An important point that should be noted is that participants should be informed about the recording and should voluntarily agree to have their views and discussions recorded. Frequently, clients or stakeholders (those involved with the research) observe the session from purpose-built viewing facilities, such as a room nearby using a one-way mirror, allowing the researcher or client to observe the discussion and group dynamics without disturbing the discussion session in progress or making their presence known that may influence the interactions. Role of the moderator The moderator plays a crucial role in determining the success or failure of the focus group. Not only is the moderator responsible for establishing a connection with the participants, probing for stimulating and extracting key insights, and keeping the discussion moving forward; in many instances, the moderator also plays a key role in the analysis and the interpretation of the data. Thus, the moderator must have the necessary skills, experience, understanding and knowledge of the topic(s)

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that are to be discussed, and an in-depth grasp of the nature of group dynamics. Some key qualifications of being an effective moderator include rapport building; active listening; maintaining objectively and neutrality; flexibility; application of probing techniques; showing respect and recognition; subject-specific knowledge; enthusiasm; vibrance; and a sense of humour (Society of Sensory Professionals (n.d.); Krueger & Casey, 2009; Malhotra, 2000). It is important to remember that the objective of focus groups is not to reach an agreement on the issues/concepts that have been discussed. Instead, the key purpose of focus groups is to facilitate and elicit a variety of responses from the participants in the discussion, to gain a better understanding of the attitudes, behaviour, opinions, or perceptions of participants on the issues that have been discussed in the group discussion session. Simply put, the main objective of the FGD is to acquire knowledge regarding a particular issue or concept. Some focus group discussions on an issue are conducted with similar types of participants to identify the trends and patterns in perceptions, behaviours, attitudes, or opinions. Focus groups in social science research are used to gain an indepth understanding of the participants’ meanings, perceptions, and interpretations. Meticulous, detailed, and methodical analyses of the discussions provide ideas and insights as to how a programme, concept, good/product, service/facility, creative ideas/advertisements, or opportunity is perceived by the group.

When to Use FGDs? The main purpose of a focus group is to gather insights and information about people’s perceptions, opinions, beliefs, thoughts, and attitudes and not to come to a consensus or even make a decision (decisions will be made on the analyses of the discussions and not during the discussion). As such, there are particular situations and cases, when FGDs are a better tool for data collection than others (cf. Shamdasani, 1990). First, FGDs may be particularly relevant for ‘exploratory’ nature of investigations; this essentially refers to any investigation that is directed towards gauging perceptions, thoughts, opinions, beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, behaviours, and motivations about a particular issue. The exploration could also be into topics of which very little to nothing is known, for example, an enquiry towards understanding ways in which cultural meanings and importance are attributed to specific rituals followed by an indigenous community in particular contextual setting. Second, FGDs become useful when a research study aims to assess and identify the needs for a programme, service, or policy before introducing them on the scale, for example, to assess the needs and requirements of starting a suicide helpline in Bangladesh or to assess and analyse an already existing child protection programme in the local cultural context of a rural village in Bangladesh. In the same vein, FGDs can be used for investigations that seek to obtain feedback and opinions on a programme, idea, service, or policy after introduction, for example, to collect information and feedback on the introduction by the Bangladesh Government of the mandatory age of marriage to be 18 years old. In doing so, FGDs may also serve as a useful tool in bridging research and

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policy. They can be used to provide insights into different opinions among different groups involved in the change process, thus enabling the process to be better and effectively managed. There is another important use of FGDs in the context of policy, programme, and services; this involves providing direction and relevant information for developing appropriate materials and messages for various interventions. For example, FGDs can help programme managers in determining the right messages and stimuli to use for communication interventions in Bangladeshi primary schools. Third, some steps and methods of research may especially benefit from the use of FGDs. In the context of a mixed-method study, for example, FGDs can be used to generate and explore research questions. Mixed-method studies may effectively deploy FGDs in conjunction with other tools and techniques with the aim of helping in the examination and explanation of people’s actual thoughts, feelings, opinions, beliefs, and perceptions. FGDs can also be used as a precursor to the later phases of a study; in other words, feedback from the FGDs can help to fine-tune the language and direction of questions to be used in a questionnaire. The other related use of FGDs involves social surveys—especially in the context of collecting information about pertinent and related questions or terminology to be included in a written survey. For example, in a study on adolescent development, it is important to assess what participants understand by empowerment and how they see it in light of existing norms in society for adolescent boys and girls.

Steps in Conducting Focus Group Discussions The essential steps to be followed in conducting focus group discussions are as follows: Planning 1. The process of conducting focus group discussions starts with an examination into and determination of the objectives to be achieved by the research project. Close and detailed scrutiny of the general and specific objectives of the research is done, which leads to the identification of the most appropriate tool(s) to address the objectives. 2. Once it has been determined that focus groups are to be conducted either standalone or in conjunction with other tools, it is important to carefully list down a comprehensive and exhaustive list of purpose and objectives for the focus groups. This may simply be a list or guideline of questions that the researcher wants to be answered through the focus groups. 3. The number of FGDs to be conducted needs to be determined based on the scope of the research project. This would mean evaluating the information required, area coverage under consideration, and the budget and time available for the study. For example, more group discussions may be needed to explore the reasons for the higher prevalence of early marriage in rural areas vs urban communities in Bangladesh, vis-à-vis a simpler goal of identifying and distinguishing the

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terminology and words people use to refer to family planning for developing a questionnaire. A quote that perfectly suits focus groups: “The task, is not to contemplate what no one has yet contemplated, but to think like no one has meditated what everyone has before him”, Schopenhauer. Implementing 4. Then a questionnaire is developed to screen the potential participants, as per the requirements of the research project. Typical information obtained from the screening questionnaires is standard socioeconomic and demographic details, behaviour, attitudes and knowledge regarding a product or service or concept, and previous participation in focus groups (if any). A general rule of thumb is the more similar the study population in terms of social characteristics, the fewer groups that will be needed. As the number of distinct target subgroups increases in the study population, the need for a larger number of FGDs arises. For example, groups comprising only doctors should be run separately from those composed of pharmacists. 5. A detailed discussion guide for use by the moderator during the focus group discussions needs to be created. This is done through a series of broad discussions between the client, researcher, and moderator. As it is the moderator who will be in control of the discussion session and is responsible for driving the discussion towards addressing the research objectives, s/he must have an adequate understanding of the nature and purpose of the research, its objectives, and how the gathered findings and insights will be used. The typical sections of a discussion guideline consist of the following sections (Jordan Civil Society Program, 2012): • Introduction or ice-breaking section: starts with the moderator greeting the participants, introducing him/herself, presenting the general issue under discussion, and asking the participants to introduce themselves. • Introductory questions: are also often called warm-up questions and these set the tone of discussion and help participants get over their uneasiness. • Transition questions: move the session from the introductory phase to the specific topic of interest to be researched. These questions are important as they set the tone and direction of the group discussion and also make people understand the specific issues that they will be talking about throughout the discussion session. • In-depth questions: located in the middle of the discussion guide, these require participants to express their viewpoints and opinions towards the issues that are being discussed. The core purpose of the FGDs is answered in this section. • Closure: these are the final questions (usually one or two) that create an opportunity for participants to clarify positions they made earlier in the discussion. The moderator finally thanks the participants and requests comments/feedback on the session.

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6. The group discussion is then conducted in a facilitating environment, and the sessions are recorded (audio and/or video) with consent from the participants. Analysis 7. Once the group discussion is over, comes the most critical part of the focus group discussion process, which is managing and analysing the data produced by the discussion sessions. Both good data and excellent research design would be of no use, if not analysed correctly and communicated clearly to the client. The recorded discussion sessions and notes taken (by either a co-moderator or a notetaker) are transcribed into specific information areas, and the contents are then analysed by researchers or data analysts. It is the analyst’s responsibility to report specific comments verbatim and findings, while looking for consistent responses, new ideas, and concerns voiced and suggested by body language and/or facial expressions (if video recording is available). Reporting the Findings 8. Focus group discussions are a technique used to collect data for qualitative research. As such, the reports of findings based on focus groups should not be presented with frequencies or statistics because ‘counting’ misleads readers in thinking that these findings are true for a much wider population, which is not the case. One should always remember that focus groups are not representative, but rather atypical. Once the data collected through the group discussions have been analysed, the final report, typically including expressions such as “most participants thought” or “participants were divided on this issue”, is then submitted to the client or the commissioning authority. The report could be in the form of an oral presentation, written narrative (question-based and presented in the form of a ‘story’) or thematic (organized by issues and themes covered in the discussion) reports, or in the form of PowerPoint presentations.

Practical Tips for Conducting FGDs 1.

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Planning is the most important phase of conducting a focus group discussion. The amount of time and effort put into the planning phase is an important determinant of the quality of results obtained from the group discussions. This includes things such as identifying the purpose of the study, detailing out the objectives of the FGDs, deciding on the appropriate parameters to be used for recruitment, drafting and finalizing the contents and flow of the discussion guide that will be used by the moderator, and choosing the appropriate moderator with the adequate level of understanding of the issue to be discussed in the FGDs. Recruitment: Identify information-rich target audiences. To ensure that the right people are recruited, the moderator (and researcher) needs to be actively involved in managing the recruitment process. Care should be taken to exclude people who have already participated in numerous focus groups, especially

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within the past six months. Such so-called professional respondents are uncharacteristic of the segment that the research wants to study, and their participation often leads to serious concerns of validation and appropriateness (Kahan, 1996). Another important point to remember is that while recruiting group participants do not tell them what the topic of the research is though you may mention the general issue; this is to avoid biases in responses during the discussion from those participants who (may) do some prior research which negatively influences findings, before coming for the group discussions. The right number of FGDs: It is also imperative to decide on the appropriate number of focus groups to be conducted. One useful strategy is to conduct as many FGDs as are necessary to provide an adequate answer to the study questions. Group Size: Smaller groups are better; try to aim for a maximum of 10 participants. Also, care should be taken that groups are not conducted with too few participants as this will hamper the dynamics of group discussion (Dachler, 1997). Discussion Guide: Testing is the key to a sound discussion guide. Always check the discussion guide with colleagues to check the formulation, the content, and the meaning of the questions. Never prejudge the participants based on physical appearance. In countries like Bangladesh, the majority of the participants in focus groups for social research belong to the lower socioeconomic classes. As such, it is important to remember that the appearance of the participants has no relation to the value of their perspectives. Moderator Skills: The moderator’s role is to facilitate the discussion in the focus group. A good moderator should be friendly with the participants and be able to engage people and draw their responses out in a group environment, listen well, know when and what to probe, interpret the results of the sessions, and communicate those effectively to the clients. As a moderator, one should: • Maintain eye contact with all participants to make everyone feel important • Encourage and ensure participation from all group participants. • Always write down the profile of the group on your notes to avoid later confusions • Try to avoid “selective listening”, by focusing on points that support an already established perspective. • Avoid using jargon while conducting the discussions and talk in simple, layman’s language that the participants can easily understand. • Avoid panicking when faced with difficult or unanticipated questions or participants who may try to take control of the group. • Avoid asking leading questions as well as expressing your own opinions and judgments.

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Coordination: For the group discussion to be successful in yielding the required findings, there should be proper and regular coordination between the client and the moderator, starting from deciding on the focus group objectives to deciding

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on the participant profile to providing inputs to the discussion guide and external stimuli to be used in group sessions. 9. Time Management: This is a crucial aspect of effective focus groups. Usually, focus groups last for 60–90 min, and as such, it is important to define a tentative time for each question as well as the entire session. Ideally, there should not be more than 12–15 questions in a focus group session—as exceeding this would mean too many questions are being asked, thereby leading to loss of focus. 10. Notetakers: should prepare a shortcode for some words and names to make the note-taking easier as well as create a code with the moderator to be in sync with each other as the discussion progresses. Notes should be written neatly and legibly to ensure future reference during the transcription and analysis phase. 11. Consent: ensure that you have proper permission to conduct the FGD (elders, parents, caretakers, etc.) and also obtain participant consent to record the FDG sessions. 12. Report Writing: Good writing skills, clear organization, and inclusion of carefully selected direct quotes from participants will make the report exciting and insightful to readers. A seasoned and experienced moderator will provide to a client objective conclusions based on the particular results and consequent interpretation of the research, irrespective of what the client wants to hear. As such, honesty in interpreting and reporting findings is essential to the focus groups being successful in achieving their objectives.

Advantages and Limitations of Focus Group Discussions Focus groups are an effective means of collecting qualitative information. In comparison with the other qualitative data collection tools (such as observations and interviews), focus groups provide access to forms of data that are not obtained easily. Compared to observations, focus groups allow the researcher an opportunity to observe a significantly large amount of interaction on a topic within a limited period, provided the researcher can efficiently gather and conduct the focus group sessions. Vis-à-vis interview techniques, focus groups facilitate the observation of interaction within a group of people on a particular topic. Through these interactive group sessions, the degree of similarities or differences in the participants’ opinions and experiences can be gauged much more clearly and quickly. Focus group discussions, when done properly, not only yield rich and detailed information and deep insights compared to other data collection methods, but they also do so within a comparatively short period. When properly carried out, a focus group creates a supportive and facilitating environment that makes participants comfortable and willing to answer and respond to critical queries in their own words, expressing their honest emotions and thought. While surveys are good for collecting information about people’s attributes, attitudes, choices, likes, and dislikes, they can only provide numerical findings in the form of rankings or preferences. But, if and

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when one needs a deeper and more meaningful exploration, among a homogenous group of people, then focus group discussions are an efficient solution. Focus groups offer several advantages over other data collection techniques, and these are summarized below: 1.

Compared to individual responses gathered through surveys and individual interviews, FGDs provide a more diverse range of information, insight, and ideas, as several people in a group come together and discuss or deliberate on (a) particular issue(s). 2. The very nature of group interviews facilitates a greater diversity and spontaneity of responses, as one person’s comment/observation triggers a chain reaction from the other participants. 3. In group discussions, once the rapport has been built, participants willingly express their ideas and share their feelings as the general level of excitement and engagement over the topic increases in the group. 4. The homogenous nature of the groups makes participants feel comfortable and at ease in sharing their ideas and feelings with others, as the others as similar to them. 5. Since group discussions encourage and facilitate spontaneous interaction and engagement, participants are not required to answer specific questions on an individual basis. As such, their responses are spontaneous and unconventional, therefore providing an accurate idea of their views and opinions. 6. Unconventional and unanticipated ideas are more likely to materialize and be expressed in a group discussion than in an individual interview. The researcher can also get information from non-verbal cues, such as facial expressions or body language of the participants at different points in the discussion. 7. As the groups involve simultaneous engagement and involvement of some participants, it is essential to use highly trained moderators, who are usually expensive but crucial to the success of the group discussions. 8. Group discussions can either be observed in real time by clients or parties invested in the research or be recorded for later viewing by both clients and researchers to draw insights and findings. 9. As the discussions are guided by a guideline and not a structured/numerical questionnaire, there is flexibility in the topics covered and the depth with which they are treated, facilitating the free flow and more in-depth exploration of information. 10. In group discussion sessions, the data collection and analysis processes proceed relatively quickly, as some individuals are interviewed at the same time. Results are also easier to understand than complicated statistical data. However, just like all other tools of data collection, focus groups also have some innate disadvantages, which may be summarized as follows: 1. If not analysed properly, then focus groups run the risk of being misused and abused by considering the findings to be conclusive instead of exploratory in nature.

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2. Unlike other tools of data collection, there is a greater risk of client and researcher biases in focus group discussions. Furthermore, as the results of focus groups are often interpreted subjectively, the results can be more easily misinterpreted than the results of other data collection techniques. 3. The quality of the focus group discussion results depends heavily on the skills and experience of the moderator. Though the moderator can control the discussion, the extent to which s/he can control the discussion depends on his/her experience. Inexperienced moderators may face problems in controlling some participants who try to dominate the group or lead the discussion away from the main topic under contemplation. 4. Focus group data tend to be chaotic and messy. The unstructured nature of the responses makes coding, data analysis, and interpretation difficult. 5. Care should be taken to remember that focus group results are not representative of the general population due to small sample sizes and heterogeneity of the population and hence cannot be generalized or projected onto a larger population. Consequently, focus group results should not be the sole basis for decisionmaking.

References Dachler, H. P. (1997). Qualitative methods in organizational research: A practical guide. In C. Cassell & G. Symon (Eds.), Organizational studies (pp. 709–724). SAGE. Fern, E. F. (1982, February 19). The use of focus groups for idea generation: The effects of group size, aqquaintanceship, and moderator on response quantity and quality. Journal of Marketing Research, 1–13. Jordan Civil Society Program. (2012). Developing the discussion guide. In A step-by-step guide to focus group research for non-governmental organizations (pp. 39–40). USAID. Kahan, H. (1996, October). A professional opinion. American Demographics (Tools Supplement), 14–19. Krueger, R. A., & Casey, M. (2009). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research. SAGE. Malhotra, N. K. (2000). In N. K. Malhotra (Ed.), Marketing research—An applied orientation (p. 150). Prentice Hall International (UK). Nelson, J. E., & Frontczak, N. (1988). How acquaintanceship and analyst can influence focus group results. Journal of Advertising, 17, 41–48. Shamdasani, D. W. (1990). Focus groups: Theory and practices. SAGE. Wilkinson, S. (2004). Focus groups: A feminist method. In S. Hesse-Biber & M. Yaiser (Eds.), Feminist perspectives on social research (pp. 271–295). Oxford University Press.

Chapter 27

Key Informants’ Interviews Salma Akhter

Abstract This chapter provides a short description of the key informant interview (KII), an important data collection method in qualitative research. Then, the chapter explains the suitability of this method in qualitative research. The chapter discusses the selection process of key informants with the roles of researcher and interviewer. The chapter gives important guidelines of the steps to conduct KII. The chapter also provides some guidelines about the data process, data presentation, and data analysis strategies of KII. The chapter ends with a description of the advantages and disadvantages of KII. Keywords Social research; Qualitative research; Interview; Key informants

Definition of Key Informant Interview The term key informant is usually associated with qualitative research. Key informant interview is interviewing knowledgeable persons as an important part of the method of investigation (Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Sociology, 2018). Key informant interviews are in-depth interviews to capture participants’ perspectives on the research topic. KIIs include interviewing persons who can provide required information, insights, and ideas, on a specific issue as an expert source of information (Kumar, 1989). Key informant interview is a conversation between a trained interviewer and an expert in his or her field, or a leader personality of the community. KII is conducted to collect information from community leaders, professionals, or residents who can give recommendations for solutions from their particular knowledge and understanding (UCLA). KIIs have been used in programme evaluations and needs assessments (Lavrakas, 2008). The key informant is a proxy for her or his associates at the organization or group (Parsons, 2008). While studying an organization, a key informant might be the person in a central position. Where the researcher

S. Akhter (B) Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_27

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cannot be a direct observer, and where the researcher does not understand the meanings of behaviour, KIIs are helpful. Tremblay considers key informants as “natural observers”, and Sjoberg and Nett describe them as “strategic informants” (cited in Marshall, 1996). Key informant interviews can be conducted by face-to-face interviews and by telephone interviews. Face-to-face interviews are mostly used in social research. Face-toface KII creates a congenial atmosphere for both interviewer and key informants. As face-to-face interviews are taken in a natural setting, the interviewer can sense of key informants’ working environment or community situation. Face-to-face interviews are suitable to capture non-verbal communication and the convenience of asking to follow up and probing questions arising from a free-flow discussion. In case of time limit or non-availability of high profile key informants, an Internet-based interview can also be conducted. KIIs questions are open-ended as it requires capturing key informants’ perceptions, experiences, and beliefs (Pact incl., 2014). Key informant interviews follow a script or guide, which may include probing questions.

Suitability of Key Informant Interviews Qualitative methods are increasingly being used in the social and policy sciences. This came with the realization of the need for understanding naturalistic settings and understanding context and the complexity of implementing social change (Shorrtell, cited in Sofaer, 2002). Human interaction issues due to the fast-changing technologies and increasing need are felt for well-timed assessment of systems with distributed users in verifying circumstances (Pace, 2004). This led to the use of in-depth interviews in commercial usability and academic research (Adams & Cox, 2008). As an exploratory method, key informant interview is suitable to use in planning and evaluating extension programmes. ‘Key informant interviews help to get information within a short time and thus keep the cost of data collection low, thus, known as the “Rapid Appraisal Technique” (Marshall, 1996). Marshall states that the key informant technique was originally used in the field of cultural anthropology; now, it is used in sociology and psychology and medicine widely. Key informant is suitable in various phases of development activities which include identification, planning, implementation, and evaluation. It is useful for a planning activity which can affect project design and also identify reasons for beneficiaries not using services of a project’ (USAID, 1996). World Health Organization (2003) made use of KII in health-related studies. Key informant interviews may be used in safety audits and human rights monitoring (UN WOMEN, endvawnow.org). Key informant interviews are suitable for providing information in a wide range of situations. USAID (1996) lists situations where key informant interviews are useful (cited in betterevaluation.org): • Qualitative and descriptive information is needed for decision-making. • Understanding of the perspectives.

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• Generating recommendations. • Identifying relevant issues before designing a quantitative study. Kumar (1989) highlights the suitability of key informant interviews in the following situations: • To generate general information such as socioeconomic conditions of an area and population composition. These sorts of data are essential in project or programme planning and in doing evaluations. • Planning effective interventions in an area by identifying attitudes and motivations of a target population towards the issue. • Provide information and insights for making a critical decision. • Interpretation of quantitative data collected by other methods and other agencies. • KIIs help define parameters of a quantitative study, the structure of questionnaires in a survey. • For generating specific recommendations. UCLA indicates when it is suitable to conduct KII: • • • •

To identify urgent issues or problems in a community by local experts. To apprehend the beliefs and motivation of local people on a specific issue. To gather data from persons with varied experiences and views. To talk on sensitive issues, capture the open conversation of informants on the issue, and get comprehensive data.

For studies on complex issues, study questions need to be identified to be answered by the Key Informant Interviews and to be answered by the surveys. Selection of Key Informants The researcher identifies appropriate groups from which small numbers of key informants are drawn based on the nature and scope of a study. According to Campbell and Levine (1970), selection of key informants is not to identify cross-sectional representatives of the community but experts on certain aspects of community life who have societal access to information (cited in Valadez and Bamberger, 1994). Regarding the selection of key informants, Valadez and Bamberger (1994) emphasize the issue of acceptability of them and suggest the use of a standard social science technique “Sociogram”, by which researchers through systematic and unobtrusive observation can construct a partial social network; can select the most communicated ones as the key informants; ask individuals to list people of their social networks; and from overlapping communication networks identify key informants. The ideal characteristics of a key informant are willingness; knowledge; communicability; impartiality; credibility; and representativeness. Role and Qualities of the Researcher and Interviewer McKenna and Main (2013) focus on the specific role of the researcher as they cite Minkler (2004) who considers that the utmost significant role of the researcher is theoretical and methodological expertise. They also look into the relationships between

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communities and researchers and quote Cornwell (2008) that action researchers must consider the importance of nature of participants and reasons of participation and for whose benefit. Thus, the selection of a key informant is crucial. Regarding the need for the intuitive nature of the interviewer, Ritchie and Lewis (2003) consider “knowledge as buried metal and the researcher as a miner who excavates the valued metal” (Kvale, 1996: 3). Kvale (1996) outlines qualities and skills of the interviewer as knowledgeable, gentle and tolerant, sensitive, open and flexible, critical but politely challenge inconsistencies, able to remember, integrate, and should clarify and extend meanings of the respondents’ statements without changing their meaning. According to Narayanasamy (2009), interviewer should be an enthusiast in learning; sensitive to moods of respondents; look for information and leads; seize upon them and follow; create an atmosphere of confidence, trust, and enjoyment; facilitate an information flow; allow cross-checking of information; and s/he should not feel superior to participants; won’t hesitate to clear doubts; won’t take participants taken for granted; won’t monopolize interview; shouldn’t follow a single track of pursuing something that is of interest only to the interviewer; and shouldn’t misinterpret the information collected. Familiarity with local cultural norms and behaviour and sensitivity to these are a must for the interviewer. Steps in conducting KII UCLA provided the guideline for steps of conducting KII which is a standard procedure. • • • • • • •

Determine what information is needed by reviewing existing data. Select target population and possible key informants. Prepare an interview tool. Decide documentation method. Identify designated interviewer(s). Take interviews. Compiling and organizing KII data.

Conducting Key Informant Interviews Initial Contact and Approaching Key Informants As initial contact is crucial to get access to key informants, interviewers must establish rapport with them so that key informants trust the interviewer to express their views and opinions. Rapport building needs attention on ‘image management’ (Meason 1985, Hammersley and Atkinson 1983, cited in Jones, 1993). Thakur (2005) emphasizes ensuring warmth and responsiveness, a permissive atmosphere, and freedom from any kind of coercion. Meason (1985) cited in Jones, 1993) suggests using shared interest to stimulate rapport. While approaching, key informants should be informed that his/her responses are very important for the study. Where people are not willing

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to be interviewed without approval by concerned officials particularly in government and donor organizations, the interviewer needs to have a letter from higher officials of those organizations. Interviewers usually make appointments with key informants to ensure prior consent or indicate their willingness to come at the key informants’ convenience. In moving away from a highly structured format, it is sometimes difficult to know what approach to take to produce effective interview material (Burgess 1982, 1984, cited in Jones, 1993). Interview guides are used to conduct KII incorporating topics and issues to be covered. The key questions may be framed by the interviewer in the course of interviews (Kumar, 1989). KIIs usually use unstructured questions like these helps to explore fresh or sensitive topics comprehensively (Narayanasamy 2009). Before beginning the interview, the interviewer should introduce himself; explain the background and objective and purpose of the interview; people involved in the process; reasons for and use of collected information; credibility for the interview; the probable uses of the collected data, the benefit of the community by this study (Kumar, 1989). The key informant should be assured of the confidentiality of information provided by them. The atmosphere of an interview should be informal and relaxed. If respondents are not comfortable, or there is a lack of privacy or is a possibility of interference from outsiders, the interviewer should change the location tactfully. Women interviewers may be preferred for interviewing women key informants for sensitiveness and privacy reasons. Kumar (1989) considers spontaneity of participants may be less in the presence of programme officials and officials’ presence in a group can be intimidating for some key informants from low socioeconomic strata (Kumar, 1989).

Presentation of Questions Presentation of questions is very important in key informant interviews, wording of questions, sequence of questions need attention. For KIIs, questions should be phrased according to the local context. According to Kumar (1989), as key informant interviews seek deeper meanings, in-depth descriptions, and thoughtful explanations, questions are to be phrased to capture detailed information and avoid direct yes or no answers which are done for formal surveys. Questions should be designed to capture the key informant’s expertise and unique viewpoint. The key informant questions, in general should be minimum; these questions may have followed up complementary questions. Preparation of an interview guide is needed for key informant interviews. An interviewer can break broad questions down into simple and smaller ones. The unstructured nature of questions elicits unanticipated and insightful replies from the respondents. Thus, researchers have a proper understanding of people and subjects (Thakur, 2005). Key informant interviews do not use rigid questionnaires; the interviewer should list key issues of the interview (USAID, 1996)’. The interviewer can start with a general conversation,

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descriptive information. USAID (1996) guidelines suggest starting KII with some basic ‘ice-breaking questions’ to feel relaxed, for example: Tell me about your daily activities. Although interviewers usually have some pre-planned questions, during the interview they need to allow the natural flow of questions with probing questions. As respondents may not be comfortable with personal questions, interviewers can start asking impersonal questions first and bring personal and intimate questions later to have the least resistance from the respondents (Thakur, 2005). Kumar (1989) suggests that questions that expose personal views and judgmental attitudes could be asked in a favourable environment after trust is built. For example, in a study on women’s micro-credit programmes, the interviewer can start with the history of respondents’ participation in the programme and then bring the issues of efficiency and effectiveness of such programmes on poverty alleviation and women’s empowerment. Interviewers should be extremely careful in phrasing such questions to avoid making the key informant uncomfortable. In some cases, asking the same question in another way is helpful (University of Illinois). An interview is more effective if the interview is done through a natural conversation. Non-verbal communication is important in such interviews. The interviewer should not ask confusing dubious questions. The jargon and technical terms need to be minimized in KIIs except for interviews with a technical expert (Kumar, 1989). For studies that require time trend data, the interviewer can start with the current situation and then move to queries about the past to capture the institutional memories. Qualitative research often involves the reconstruction of events through probing informants to think about the ways the sequences of events unfolded about a present situation (Bryman, 2004).

Probing Questions Probing encourages respondents to reflect more profoundly on the sense of their remarks (UCLA). Probing questions help cross-check the accuracy of the level of understanding of respondents (Thakur, 2005). However, Thakur (2005) warns that probing questions should avoid creating the impression that the interviewer is doing a cross-examination and should maintain a conversational manner. It is necessary to do skilful probing for elaboration and clarifications of responses. When more details are required, the interviewer can tell the informant—I am getting an idea, would you please tell me more about it. An interviewer would ensure that the key informants move from generalities to specifics. When the respondent is unclear or incoherent, Kumar (1989) suggests such comments clarify the situation: “Would you please repeat it?” While analysing, narratives can illuminate how informants use language to convey particular meaning and experiences (Punch, 2001).

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Convincing Key Informants If the informant does not give any opinions, the interviewer should find out the reasons for the uncomfortable feelings of the informant and the interviewer should assure the informant about confidentiality and privacy. In case key informant takes a long time with an inappropriate answer, the interviewer should try to understand whether there is any productive answer underneath; otherwise, the interviewer can politely interrupt and proceed to a different topic courteously. The relation between interviewer and interviewee is key in ensuring the quality of the data (Measor 1985, cited in Jones, 1993). A neutral attitude, empathetic approach, and familiarity with the issue but avoiding biases are expected from interviewers. In an unfavourable situation when interviewers experience stubborn manners or silence from the key informants, particularly in sensitive issues, the interviewer should deal with them by realizing the reasons behind their behaviours. The interviewer can try other topics or issues to make the informant more accommodating. If the interviewer fails to convince the informant, another interview in a less formal, congenial atmosphere and different location could be tried. Sometimes, informants who would be negatively affected by the project may be aggressive but exceptional sources of information in the assessment of some projects such as infrastructure projects, as their responses would be helpful in planning and implementing resettlement and rehabilitation plans. If an informant continues to be non-responsive, non-cooperative, and aggressive for long and the interviewer understands that there is no sign of changing the informant’s attitude, the interviewer should terminate the interview. Kumar (1989) considers that role-playing can help present sensitive questions. An example of role-playing is in a study on gender inequality and harassment of women workers in a workplace; interviewer can ask the informants—if I have been your manager what would have you suggest to improve the workplace environment? He suggests the interviewers’ consciousness of social, cultural, and political sensibilities while using this technique (Kumar, 1989:15). The key informant should not control any conversation.

Concluding Questions and Summary Concluding questions are suitable to have additional information or comments from the informants. An interviewer can request the informants for their suggestions in these questions to improve a programme. The interviewer can summarize the major comments of the interview and check with the formants whether all the major points are covered. An interviewer can ask informants if they like to add any additional comments. After completing the

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interviews, the interviewer should thank the informant for the time and valuable comments and can send follow-up notes to thank the informants. Interviewing Key Informants by a Team KII is conducted by a team jointly in some project or programme evaluations. In this case, a suitable procedure is developed for all members’ participation in asking questions without intimidating the respondent and timely completion of an interview with quality data. It can be done by designating one person as the primary interviewer who after covering all the issues requests other team members for asking questions. Alternatively, every member based on expertise is assigned specific topics or issues within the allocated time. Key Informant Interviews with Translators While working in an area or population where the interviewer and key informant have a language barrier, the involvement of a translator is needed. A major challenge with using translators is some information is lost in the translation process particularly if the interviewer is not familiar with the sociocultural context of the study population or area. To minimize the risk of translators failing to translate the discussion accurately and properly, the interviewer is expected to orient the translator on the scope of the study. The interviewer needs to check that respondent’s comments are translated carefully with the same phrasing.

Successful Communication in Key Informant Interviews Communication is a key factor of a successful key informant interviews. For a successful KII, the interviewer should take care of the following matters. • Eye contact is very important in getting the full attention of the informants. The interviewer has to take notes and follow the interview guide unobtrusively, without disturbing the conversation. • Orient informant the purpose of the interview and begin with non-controversial topics. • Inform key informant about the length of the interview and reschedule if the time is not convenient for the key informant. • Maintain privacy for ensuring the reliability of the information. • Provide informant required time to reflect on sensitive questions. • Listening carefully and repeating informants’ key points help summarize responses. • The interviewer should maintain neutrality about the informant’s views. The interviewer should not use any non-verbal signs which indicate agreement or disagreement of any comments of the key informant. • Depersonalizing a sensitive subject such as criticisms on a programme. • Ask informants for specific examples, incidents, events, activities, and useful anecdotes to back up generalizations.

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Special Care on Gender Issues UN WOMEN emphasizes that the interviewer must be cautious in conducting interviews on violence against women. Ethical considerations should be of prime concern in doing interviews with survivors of VAW (endvawnow.org). World Health Organization (2003) highlights the important ethical and safety considerations in interviewing survivors of violence against women. WHO emphasizes the issues of assess the risks of the informant ; be attentive and respectful to every woman’s self-assessment of own situation and risks; prepare referral information; provide information on women’s native and local languages; ensure confidentiality; avoid re-traumatize a survivor-woman or girl; advances of good practice, policies, interventions; preparation for emergency intervention in addition to common ethical issues.

Recording Interviews Key informant interviews can be documented by taking notes or recording conversations. Note-taking: Note-taking is crucial in interviewing key informants to ensure capturing all information. As it is not like structured questions, the skill of note-taking can make a huge difference in analysing data. Fetterman (1989) considers good notes as the bricks and mortar of field research (cited in Neuman, 1997). The interviewers should explain to informants about the inevitability of note-taking for proper recoding of information ensuring not to miss any crucial information in data analysis and report writing. Extensive note-taking is important as some information during the interview may not be considered significant and may appear as important and relevant after the interview. The interviewer can use abbreviations and codes to make note-taking faster but, in this case, immediately after the interview needs to review the notes and fill in the blanks to ensure all information are noted. The interviewers should note the non-verbal behaviours of informants to be scrutinized more carefully during analysing data. Respondent’s remarks may generate new ideas and insight for the interviewer. Interviewers can also take notes of their impressions and insights about informants’ responses. In the interviews where conversations are recorded using a tape recorder, the interviewer has to take detailed notes. This will be a safeguard for accessing data in mechanical failure. This will also help capture the non-verbal manners of the informant. As making transcriptions of records of tapes is time-consuming and expensive, written notes are time-saving. Also, written notes can be cross-checked with recorded information for more reliability of the information. Use of Tape Recorders: The use of tape recorders has become widespread in key informant interviews in recent times. Recording ensures the authenticity of the interview. If the interview is needed to be taped, the interviewer should take permission of the key informant before the interview starts. Recording should be discontinued

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during an interview when the informant feels discomfort on any issue. While an interview is taped, the interviewer can take notes without interrupting the conversation. However, informants may become more formal while a conversation is recorded and may avoid giving information of personal experiences and recording may make key informants feel intimidated and reluctant to talk about sensitive issues.

Translation The use of the same language for interviews and written notes helps to keep lucidity and save time. Translating interviews is time-consuming. During translation, the translator should be careful about not losing the detail of the conversation. If not professionally and carefully done, some senses may be lost or misinterpreted during translation. For verifying consistency, doing the record translated and then retranslating it into the language of the interview can be done.

Online or Virtual Interview Virtual interviews and discussions are getting more and more used in social research. A virtual interview is interviewing using information and communication technologies (ICTs). The types of virtual interviews include structured, unstructured, and semi-structured interviews. These also include in-depth interviews, focus groups, and group interviews. Online interviews can save time for both interviewers and informants. This can be done for the high profile key informants. This is also suitable for interviewing students and teachers online on and in group-based interviews. Burgess considers “Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in universities offer abundant prospects for qualitative research” (Burgess 1995, cited in Turney & Pocknee, 2005).

Ethical Issues and Consent Form Ethics is an integral part of research at all stages, from the formulation of the problem to presenting results. The researcher’s integrity is crucial in social research, and Collins argued that an important reason for increased reliance on quantitative methods is due to lack of trust (cited in Neuman, 1997). In qualitative research, there is a concern about the extent of researcher and informant relationships. According to Richards and Schwartz (2002), anonymity and confidentiality are crucial ethical issues in qualitative research. According to them, the term ‘confidentiality’ conveys different meanings to researchers of various disciplines (cited in Sanjari et al., 2014). Informed consent is an essential part of ethics in research in various areas. For

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qualitative researchers, it is of the utmost importance to specify in advance which data will be collected and how they are to be used (Hoeyer K, Dahlager L, Lynöe N, 2005, cited in Sanjari, et al., 2014). The ethical conduct of qualitative research is complex. This is evolving and a matter of continuing debate in qualitative research (Preissle 1993). Informed consent practices are developed on basis of national and global research ethics guiding principles. Informed consent is used by qualitative research as part of ethical consideration. This is a form that describes the research details, the risks, and the benefits (Mack et al., 2005). For taking consent before the interview, the interviewer will give the form to the informant and ask to sign the consent form for literate people. The interviewer will read the consent form loudly to the informant for obtaining consent for the illiterate or less literate population. After taking the informant’s signature in the consent form, the interviewer will sign it. If it is required the interviewer to take oral consent, the interviewer will sign the consent form for documenting that the interviewer has taken consent from the informant. The consent form always should list the contact information of officials for study in case of informants have any questions (Mack et al., 2005). A consent form should be given or sent before the interview to the informant for a telephone interview.

Analysing Key Informant Interview Data The steps of data analysis of KIIs suggested by USAID and Kumar (1989) are as follows: Interview Summary Sheet: A summary sheet is prepared on the key findings based on notes and information into manageable themes. This is useful in analysing the interview. Using Descriptive Code: The researcher can use descriptive codes to indicate data to be in the proper category. Relevant ideas, concepts, questions, or themes are coded. The advantage of pre-coding saves time but coding after completion of the interviews helps identify empirically relevant categories. Presenting Data: Data can be presented in visual presentations by using tables, boxes, and figures. These summarize bulk data and show patterns or trends. This helps present the essential results to key decision-makers and policymakers. Reliability and Validity of Findings: To increase the validity of findings, feedback can be obtained from a few key informants by sharing a summary or sharing major findings in a meeting or focus group.

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The key informants are allowed to question the findings and present their arguments and thoughts (Kumar, 1989:32). Report writing based on qualitative data has various forms. According to Richardson one way is the ‘narrative of the self’, the researcher is free from a goal of ‘getting it right’, and ‘relive the experiences’ (Richardson, 1994, cited in Bailey, 2017). Richardson suggests that it will follow as ‘poems honour the speaker’s pauses, repetitions, alliteration, narrative strategies, rhythms, and so on’. According to Richardson, another way is classified as “mixed genres”; field researchers draw upon “literary, artistic, and scientific”. Examples of Key Informants: • For assessing government’s programme’s impact, key informants will be government officials at various levels from the national level to sub-districts. • For impact assessment of government and development partners’ programmes at local government, key informant would be Local Government Representatives at different tiers of local government and government officials. • For the Evaluation of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for a country, key informants would be the Head of UN Agencies in that country. • For an education-related development intervention, key informants would be education ministry officials, education officers at district and sub-district levels, and teachers of the educational institutions. • For health-related programmes, doctors and health officials would be key informants. • For community development programmes, community leaders, NGOs, government officials, civil society, and Local Government Institutions’ representatives would be key informants.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Key Informants’ Interview The brief key points of KIIs are presented in Box 27.1 Advantages

Disadvantages

Key informant interviews is based on gathering data from well-informed persons on the study issue, thus it provides insight that cannot be obtained with other method Kumar (1989:3)

Selecting the “right” key informants is crucial for ensuring representation of diverse backgrounds and viewpoints (UCLA). Selection biases due to non-familiarity with the conditions of informants may happen

KII provides information on events, activities, or circumstances that explain operational challenges

When quantitative or statistical data are needed to plan a project or monitor its advancement, KIIs cannot be used without survey (Kumar 1989) (continued)

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(continued) Advantages

Disadvantages

Co-operation between interviewer and informants, ‘sharing reflection’ (Douglas, 1985) are features of KII

Interviewer’s biases based on preconceived notions, giving priorities or credence to elites’ views or respond more to ideas are some issues of concern

KIIs’ flexibility allows exploration of fresh thoughts. The interviewer can pursue predesigned complex issue arisen from one KII with other key informants

Difficult for busy and hard-to-reach respondents Selection of most appropriate informants requires time

Skilful social scientists conduct KIIs

When only a few people are interviewed, validity of the findings could be difficult

KIIs are least expensive (Washington University) among the social science research methods. Save high cost of printing, mailing of quantitative data analysis

Quantification and generalization are difficult from the information collected from KII unless interviewing many key informants is done

Get an insiders’ view through rapport/ trust Trust building is difficult being an outsider building Can provide in-depth information about causes of the problem of any programme and project.

Interviewer’s rapport with the informant may affect the information provided by informant and obtained by interviewer

Allows interviewer to clarify ideas and information on continual basis

Informants may give interviewer their own impressions and biases

Can easily be used combining with other qualitative and quantitative techniques and methods. Ali et al. (2014) consider that KII technique could be useful to researchers who face confusion in designing the research and feel the need for experts’ views.

For some studies may have to be combined with other methods as achieving representativeness of the total community is difficult by using only KII

Allows researcher to obtain information from diverse (ages, ethnic, religious, education, community responsibilities) people and capture minority or “silent majority” viewpoints

Representative range of informants and the perspectives of less visible community members may be overlooked in some studies. Excluded community may feel offended for being left out and may intervene during interview

Researcher can build or strengthen relationships with key community stakeholders

The interviewer who is conducting a nondirective interview needs to develop a ‘mode of discourse that is completely foreign to ordinary conversation’ (Rogers cited in Thakur, 2005)

Can promote consciousness, attention, and The researcher needs to be careful about Key eagerness about an issue informant’s exaggeration about facts or self-importance (continued)

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(continued) Advantages

Disadvantages

The quality and nature of the information Like other qualitative methods evoke culturally significant responses unexpected depends on interview guides, appropriately worded Questions, intelligent inquiries, for researcher (Mack et al. 2005) properly recorded responses, systematic analysis, and adequately verified findings. Otherwise poorly planned and implemented KII can generate information of ‘dubious value and low credibility’ (Kumar 1989)

Despite some limitations, the key informant interview is increasingly being used in social research due to its flexibility and exploratory nature and providing quality information within a short time with the least expenses compared to many other methods.

References Adams, A., & Cox, A. L. (2008). Questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focus groups. In P. Cairns & A. L. Cox (Eds.), Research methods for human computer interaction (pp. 17–34). Cambridge University Press. Ali, M., David, M. K., & Lai, L. C. (2014). Using the Key Informants Interviews (KIIs) technique: A social sciences study with Malaysian and Pakistani respondents. Man and Society, 24, 131–148 Bailey, C. A. (2017). A guide to qualitative field research. The Pine Forge Press series in research methods and statistics. Pine Forge Press. A Sage Publications Company. Bryman, A. (2004). Social research methods, (2nd ed). Oxford university Press. Douglas, J. (1985). Creating interviewing. Sage. Henn, M., Weinstein, M., & Foard, N. (2006). A short introduction to social research. Sage Publications: California, USA. Jones, C. (1993). Qualitative interviewing. In G. Allan, C. Skinner (Eds), Handbook for Research students in the social sciences. The Falmer Press: London. Kumar, K. (1989). Conducting Key Informant Interviews in Developing Countries, A.I.D. Program Design and Evaluation Methodology Report No. 13, Center for Development Information and Evaluation, A.I.D, December 1989 Kvale, S. (1996). Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Sage Publications. Lavrakas, Paul J., 2008, Encyclopaedia of Survey research Methods, Sage Publications. Mack, N., Woodsong, C., Macqueen, K. M., Guest, G., & Namey, E. (2005). Qualitative research methods overview. Qualitative research methods: A data collector’s field guide, 1–12, Family Health International, USAID. Marshall, M. N. (1996). The key informant technique, Family Practice, 13(1), Oxford University Press. Maxwell, J. (1996). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach, applied social research methods series. Vol. 41, Sage publication: Thousand Oaks, USA.

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McKenna, S. A., & Main, D. S. (2013). The role and influence of key informants in communityengaged research: A critical perspective. Action Research. SAGE. Needs assessment techniques. Using key informant interviews. Retrieved from. http://ppa.aces.uiuc. edu/pdf_files/Informant1.PDF Neuman, W., & Lawrence. (1997). Social research methods. Qualitative and quantitative approaches (3rd ed), Allyn and Bacon: USA. Oklahoma’s Official Website. Key informant interview guidance document. Retrieved from. https:// www.ok.gov/odmhsas/documents/Key%20Informant%20Interview%20Guidance%20Doc_ Draft.pdf Pact Inc. (2014). Field guide for evaluation: How to develop an effective terms of reference, Washington DC. Retrieved from. https://www.betterevaluation.org/sites/default/files/Field%20G uide%20for%20Evaluation_Final.pdf Parsons, J., (2008). A Key Informant. Blackwell encyclopaedia of sociology, 2007, Sage publications. Punch, KF. (2001). Introduction to social research. Qualitative and quantitative approaches, Sage Publications: London. Richardson, M. (1994). Writing: A method of inquiry. In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 516–529). Sage: Thousand Oaks, CA, USA. Ritchie, J. & Lewis, J. (Eds.). (2013). Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers. Sage. Sanjari, M., Bahramnezhad, F., Fomani, F. K., Shoghi, M., & Cheraghi, M. A. (2014). Ethical challenges of researchers in qualitative studies: The necessity to develop a specific guideline. Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, 7, 14. Sofaer, S. (2002). Qualitative research matters. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 18(4), 329–336, International Society for Quality in health care and Oxford University Press. Thakur, D. (2005). Research Methodology in Social Sciences. Deep and Deep Publications Pvt Ltd. The center for substance abuse prevention’s northeast center for the application of prevention technologies. (2004). Key informant interviews, (NECAPT, 2004 Education Development Center, Inc. Turney, L. & Pocknee, C. (2005). Virtual Focus Groups. New Frontiers in Research. UCLA centre for health policy research, Key informant interviews. University of Illinois Extension Service-Office of Program Planning and Assessment. USAID centre for Development Information and Evaluation. (1996). Performance monitoring and evaluation TIPS. No. 2. Retrieved from. http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNABS541.pdf Washington University. Conducting key informant interviews guide. Key informant interview handbook. courses.washington.edu. World Health organization (WHO). (2003). Description of the key informant survey. Retrieved from. http://www.who.int/evidence/KI-Survey

Chapter 28

Discourse Analysis Lokasundari Vijaya Sankar

Abstract This chapter is an introduction to discourse analysis. Discourse analysis is both a methodology and an approach to the analysis of discourse. It is a term used for the examination and analysis of speech and writing, though other texts which give meaning are included in the definition of discourse. The chapter outlines what discourse analysis is; shows the importance of context and culture in this method of analysis; outlines some common approaches to discourse analysis; and shows how to design a study for discourse analysis. Keywords Discourse analysis · Context · Culture · Power relations

Introduction Discourse analysis (DA) examines patterns of the language within different texts. It examines the contexts in which language is used. The term refers to language that is used in written, spoken, sign language, or any kind of sign process like using metaphors, analogies, and symbolism to create meaning. Therefore, discourse refers to linguistic and non-linguistic communication. Harris (1952) wanted to examine how linguistic and non-linguistic languages interacted with one another and created meaning. The creation and study of meaning is a very important concept in the study of discourse analysis because language can be used in many ways depending on situations and contexts. These different styles of using language are known as discourses. The term ‘discourse analysis’ was first used by Zellig Harris in 1952 when he examined the connections between speech and writing. He wanted to examine how linguistic and non-linguistic languages interacted with one another and created meaning. The creation and study of meaning is a very important concept in the study of discourse analysis because language can be used in many ways depending

L. V. Sankar (B) School of Communication, Taylor University, Subang Jaya, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_28

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on situations and contexts. These different styles of using language are known as discourses. Discourse analysis is a difficult concept to explain in just one interpretation because of the evolving nature of its study. Researchers use the term in different ways to interpret language and texts because technological innovations and the interdisciplinary role of discourse plays a large role in what constitutes text or language. Blommaert (2005), for instance, says that discourse means instances of communicative action or meaningful symbolic behaviour while Johnstone (2008), says that communication can be in various types of media other than language such as ‘photography, clothing, music, architecture, and dance’ (pg.3). Foucoult (1972), on the other hand, thinks of discourse as examples of the larger systems of thought that are prevalent within a particular historical location that makes some things meaningful in thought and talk. Therefore, he feels that the thoughts and processes that precede discourse such as ideologies about religion, medicine, politics, power, and other aspects of daily living influence the way we think and act. These larger systems that exist in particular periods guide and explain discourse. While generally in language and linguistics, a text is studied for its linguistic structure; in discourse analysis, the text is studied to reveal the social, psychological, cultural, and other components that makeup people’s psyche in creating meaning when saying (either vocally, in writing or by creating signs or photos and other communicative events) in interpreting text and/or discourse. Discourse analysis started as a part of the study of linguistics. However, it has become an interdisciplinary study in contemporary times. From the 1960s, much work has been done with discourse through the study of language at the word, clause, or sentence level to provide an analysis of language as the text that is studied with the social context providing a secondary background to language as can be seen in the work of Prop (1958). Discourse analysis in its more modern form has moved on to the study of language as it is used in a social context rather than language as text. Early studies of discourse analysis were therefore situated in linguistics which primarily studied the text with the context providing a background, whereas the current studies of discourse analysis view language as a study of the context thereby making the context an integral part of the analysis of language (Bhatia et al., 2008). This evolution of the study of discourse from the study of language at the next level to the study of language in use has its foundations in the insights derived from sociology, psychology, communication, business, law, and a host of other disciplines. These insights have been incorporated into the study of language so that language used in academic, cultural, social, professional, and workplace settings (to name a few) can be studied in context. The works of sociologists such as Goffman (1959) and Garfinkel (1967) helped in this evolution of discourse analysis when they studied the role of language in social behaviour while others such as Sapir and Whorf studied language in anthropology (in Bhatia et al., 2008:2), thereby making discourse analysis an interdisciplinary one.

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Cultural context is essential to the understanding of meaning because unless one understands the culture that a person is from and the uniqueness of creating meaning in that particular culture, the true meaning of discourse will be lost (Paltridge, 2012). Language should be studied in very real situations where it occurs naturally so that meaning is understood in authentic, real, and natural contexts. Discourse analysis can therefore be a study of language at the next level, where we look at the linguistic structures, for example, at the sentence level or the metaphors used to convey meaning. Or it can be studied to see how language is used to achieve certain aims or goals by participating in speech and other communicative acts or taking part in communicative events to convey a certain meaning in a certain situation. It is also a study of how people control, manage and manipulate communication within their groups as well as how they communicate with groups outside their social, cultural or national groups. Discourse analysis is also about how language is used to communicate ideas and beliefs and how these are communicated beyond the boundaries of language structures.

Common Approaches to Discourse Analysis According to Schiffrin et al. (2003), DA can be broadly studied from three perspectives: i. Language Beyond the Sentence Level Usually, the study of language and linguistics involves the study of grammatical structures such as phonology, morphology, and syntax which analyses sentencelevel language details. DA studies beyond just one sentence and looks further into the occurrence of more than just a sentence and could involve conversations held between or among several people. ii. Language in Use DA can also study language in use which refers to the context in which language is used. It could be the language between doctors, lawyers, friends, colleagues, etc. The context of language refers to the geographical (which country), physical location (coffee shop, business setting, hospital, etc.), the cultural (e.g., ethnic culture, professional culture), and other dynamics that constitute context are also important to this analysis. iii. Social Practices in Use This is an area that is evolving and is important in the study of DA. It involves the study (besides language and other texts) of non-linguistic items used by the speaker (such as the dress, the gestures used, items carried by the speaker such as handphones and computing devices) and the understandings brought by the speakers to

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the conversation ( such as rules of society, thought, customs, and other known and accepted practices). Wetherell, Taylor, and Yates (cited in Hogan, 2013) state that the study of discourse analysis has certain core traditions. It is a two-way process that does not exist on its own and is both influenced by and influences other disciplines. Because of this nature of discourse analysis, it examines spoken and written and other communicative texts from different subjects like medicine, law, psychology, advertising, etc. and analyses it from many different perspectives to examine race, gender, power relations, etc. Scholars in DA such as state that DA can be either descriptive (as in linguistic analysis) or critical (as in applied linguistics or political discourse) while Hodges et al., (2008:571) suggest three different approaches to DA. The first approach is based on empirical analysis of language such as written and/or spoken texts on the uses of language in social settings (to discover social practices) such as conversation analysis. The second approach is a formal linguistic analysis of texts (to discover the meanings of text) such as sociolinguistics. The third and final approach analyses oral, written, and other data/discourses (to discover the uses of texts in social settings) to construct what is possible for people and institutions to think and say. Three approaches mentioned by Hodges et al. (2008) are discussed below. An additional fourth is added as it is an important method (Kress & van Leeuwen, 1996) that combines different modes of communication (to include digital communication). • Conversation Analysis This approach started in the 1960s by Garfinkel (1967) and chiefly aims to interpret how members of a common culture use their understanding of their culture to act, interact and interpret in their daily lives. The analysis of such conversations is to understand and document the competencies of the members of a cultural group as they participate in conversations. In undertaking conversation analysis, researchers try to understand patterns in social life by asking questions of why certain words or phrases were used, the patterns observed in social practices such as taking turns during conversation and understanding sequences in utterances. With this type of analysis, rules or patterns of conversations that govern a cultural group can be discovered. • Ethnography of Communication (sociolinguistics) Gumperz and Hymes (1991) introduced the term ethnography of communication to explain how people of a common ethnic background use language to become members of that group. A person’s ability to interact within a community by understanding nuances of the community’s practices is an example of communicative competence. • Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) This type of study looks into power and how it can be used in language to promote it. For this, discourses are studied carefully to understand power relations especially in the study of gender, race and colour. While each CDA specialist has their way of analysing discourse, all of them study the social structures that create and maintain power (Jahedi et al., 2014).

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• Multimodal Discourse Analysis In this method of discourse analysis, the text is seen as only one form of communication available for interacting socially with others. While most other forms of discourse analysis emphasize the text itself, multimodal analysis of discourse places emphasis on all the new electronic media that has taken the world by storm. Kress and van Leeuwen (1996) who did much work on this approach took the view that most interactions were governed by a single accepted mode of communication whether it was in music, art, or literature. However, this single form of communication changed with the introduction of digital media. People have different forms of expressing themselves in addition to text (such as sound, music, and visuals etcetera). Also, the increasing multicultural landscape of countries, technologies in transport, electronic communication, and the blurring boundaries of countries globally have contributed to a new social and cultural landscape that makes communication much more complicated than just the analysis of a text. Multimodal analysis, according to Idema (2003), is the de-centring of language as the principal mode of communication and moving towards a more complex semiotic landscape that includes changes in social and cultural diversity.

How to Design a Study Using Discourse Analysis As can be seen from the above, DA is an approach that can be used in several disciplines either singly or together. The methods of analysis are also many as shown above. The following design is a general one given for DA and not specific to any one discipline. 1. Fix Your Topic and Read Relevant Literature As in all scientific studies, it will be essential for you to ascertain the topic which you wish to study and make every attempt to read all available sources to ensure that you are familiar with work that has already been done in the field. For the study of DA, choose topics that show how structures in social work. According to van Djik, in his website ‘What do we mean by Discourse Analysis?’, these structures may be structures of expression (such as sounds, images, movements, including those of words, word order, or sentence structure), on the one hand, and structures of meaning and (inter)action, on the other. (http://www.discourses.org/journals/das/whatisdiscou rseanalysis/index.html). Several genres can be explored under discourse analysis (such as discourse in politics, the media, education, science, and business). These can then be studied about context, power, interaction, and cognition so that prevailing structures of society can be revealed through the analysis of the data being analysed. 2. Establish the Context As stated earlier in this chapter, context is very important in discourse analysis; therefore before reading and understanding literature, it is important to establish

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where the material originates from and how the literature will help you in the study being planned. Establish what the social and historical context is and in which each of the studies was produced. Make notations of important issues or information arising from the readings: for example: what language was the source written in, what country and place it is from, who wrote it (and when), and who published it (and when). Ensure that you keep a good file of all your references so that you can read them as many times as necessary. 3. Establish Background of Source Materials In discourse analysis, the social, political, and cultural contexts are important. Consequently, try and understand the philosophies and other contextual circumstances surrounding the materials read. If you are reading historical documents, then you need to try and gauge the mindset of the authors as well as their institutional and personal backgrounds. If you are looking at journalistic material, newspaper articles, and television productions, establish who the authors and the editorial staff are; what the political position of the media house (that they work in) is and whether it has any interesting affiliations to political parties. In many cases, media outlets themselves provide some of this information online on their websites. Contact the editors and find a way to explore their backgrounds thoroughly. 4. Establish the Medium of the Data Gathered The next thing to do is to understand the medium in which the material that you are working with is presented. Make sure to identify the different media types in which your source appeared and also be clear about the version that you are analysing. Newspaper articles can be different based on whether they are the print version or an online version. An online version will have interactive media options which allow for comments from readers, present links and other multimedia content. A print version may be subject to a country’s media laws and may be framed differently to make it family-friendly. Consider carefully whether additional photographs and other visual media that accompany your data will have an impact on your analysis. Another important consideration is the type of article being analysed. Is it a news item, a report or interview, an editorial, a commentary, a letter to the editor or some other form of writing? The background to the piece of writing will help to assess how the author of the piece wrote it and for which audience it was written (Schneider, 2013). 5. Prepare Your Material for Analysis Your next step is to get ready for analysing your data. You need to either work with a digital copy or with a print copy. A print copy will allow you to place your own marks/comments on features that you consider important. If you work with a digitized copy, then you can prepare the data by numbering the lines so that you work more scientifically and can identify any line in your data through a numbering system. The following table gives a general outline of the levels of analysis for interpreting text for a discourse analysis (Table 28.1).

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Table 28.1 Level of analysis of discourse method Level of analysis

Clarifying questions

Sub-steps

Level 1 Understand and explicate the main intention to study the text (written, spoken or other forms of discourse) for analysis

How can the text be understood ‘normally’? Can the statements (if spoken) be reworded or rephrased to mean something else? What does the writer/speaker wish to emphasise? How do you know this? What is the intention of the speaker/writer? How do you know this? What would be an acceptable interpretation of this text? How would you know this?

1.Read the text carefully 2. Make first notes to clarify your questions 3. Write down your first impressions of the text

Level 2 Understand and explicate the context surrounding this text Is there an organization/person(s) behind the text creation? What is their background? What social or political context surrounds the text?

What are contextual facts that might be bridged to a story in the discourse transcript? Are there background historical or other factors known that might be evoked through the text?

3. Wherever applicable—make secondary notes—concerning the context of the discourse/text

Level 3 Categorise the text/discourse following the research model. What are the components or dimensions of the model being used in the study?

What are the units in the text related to the research constructs/dimensions/components? Are there text units that can be categorised in more than one component or dimension?

4. Read discourse/text again 5. Give codes to every text unit based on the research model 6. Compile sets of interpretive accounts per component, dimension or construct (for example, in tables)

Level 4 Explicate the meanings discovered in the text/discourse

How can the dimension and the research construct be understood as a whole? How could the text accounts be estimated following the research intention, model, etc.?

7. Read the interpretive accounts that you have come up with 8. Label every unit of analysis in line with the research intention, depicting the research construct clearly 9. Extract a core summary (continued)

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Table 28.1 (continued) Level of analysis

Clarifying questions

Sub-steps

Level 5 Characterise the linguistic features of the text units

What can be said about the linguistic presentation in the units? Are there convincing arguments? Clearness? Vagueness? Transparency or other linguistic features?

10. Read the interpretive accounts per set of text/discourse 11. Identify the linguistic presentation of every unit

Level 6 Refine the components Extrapolate the interpretations on to every component of a text

What can be said about the relevancy of every component for the dimension in the research model? Are there dimensions that can be restructured after a revision?

12. Identify the noteworthiness of every text unit for the particular component analysed 13. Identify the significance of every component for the dimension 14. Refine the structures of the dimensions (unifying some components, eliminating others, etc.)

Level 7 Explicate the general relationships found in the model

What can be concluded about significance of every dimension about their placement in the theory used for the study?

15. Refine the research model according to the insights discovered during your analysis

Adapted from: Bondarouk and Ruël (2004:14)

6. Identify Cultural References Context and culture are important aspects of analysing discourse. The next step is to investigate the extent to which context and culture inform the discourse that is being analysed. Does the data refer to other texts, sources, or other subject matters? Does it refer to contexts and cultures through sources such as books and movies? This way you can establish context and cultural elements that rule the discourse. 7. Identify Linguistic Markers Discourse analysis has much to do with language, its various properties and usage. Apart from looking at the role of context, it is also important to identify linguistic markers in detail. This type of coding can involve: • Grammar features: such as nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, tenses, passive, and active statements. These features can reveal the intent of the people in the text. • Vocabulary: words can shed light as to the kind of language used according to subject or discipline. A medical text will probably employ different kinds of words

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compared to business for instance. Look for common features that will show the flow and logic of the text. • Rhetorical devices: these devices which include proverbs, idioms, similes, metaphors, and allegories are often used by literary writers to show arguments artistically. 8. Interpret the Data The last part of discourse analysis is to interpret the data. It is the most important aspect as you need to figure out what the entire discourse means. Your various efforts at obtaining results will now have to be tied together so that you can have answers to your research questions and objectives. You will need to tie together the linguistic features of the text with the context and examine fragments of the discourse to get a broad picture of the text. Keep in mind the author’s sentiments, the context, the culture, and the text to make sense of the meaning created by the text. Examine the arguments laid out and compare them with other arguments and knowledge in the area. 9. Present Your Findings The last step in discourse analysis is to present your findings in a coherent, cohesive and comprehensible manner following known protocols for the document which you are writing, be it a thesis, dissertation or journal paper. Divide your findings into the common themes discovered during the interpretation stage and use those as headings to write your findings.

Conclusions DA is the study of how language through written and spoken texts and other modern discourses (both linguistic and non-linguistic) provide meaning to society. It is a study of how society maintains and establishes structures that guide discourse. DA is also the study of language beyond the sentence level, the study of language in use and the study of social practices. Common approaches to the analysis of discourse include conversation analysis, ethnography of communication, critical discourse analysis, and multimodal discourse analysis.

References Bhatia, V. K., Flowerdew, J., & Jones, R. H. (Eds.). (2008). Advances in discourse studies. Routledge: New York Blommaert, J. (2005). Key topics in sociolinguistics. Reino Unido: Cambridge.Blommaert, J. (2005). Key topics in sociolinguistics. Reino Unido: Cambridge.

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Bondarouk, T., & Ruël, H.J.M. (2004). Discourse analysis: making complex methodology simple. In: T. Leino, T. Saarinen, and S. Klein (Eds.), Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS). June 14–16.2004 Turku Finland. http://www.ecis2004.fi Foucault, M. (1972). The archaeology of knowledge: Translated from the french by AM Sheridan Smith. Pantheon Books, New York. Garfinkle, H (1967). Studies in ethnomethodology. Prentice-Hall, ISBN, 0745600050, 9780745600055. Goffman, Irving (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life, Doubleday. Gumperz, J. J., & Hymes, D. (1991). Directions in Sociolinguistics: The Ethnography of Communication. Wiley Blackwell Publishers. ISBN: 978-0-631-14987-3. Harris Zellig, S. (1952). Discourse Analysis: A sample text. Language, 28(4), 474–494. Linguistic Society of America, Chicago. Hogan, S. (2013). Understanding Discourse Analysis? Paper Produced for Doctor of Practice. Students.Academia.edu. Idema, R. (2003). Multimodality, resemiotization: Extending the analysis of discourse as multisemiotic practice. Visual Communication, 2(1), 29–57. Jahedi, M., Abdullah, F. S., & Mukundan, J. (2014). An overview of focal approaches of critical discourse analysis. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 2(4), 28–35. Johnstone, B. (2008). Discourse Analysis. Blackwell Publishing. Kress, G. R., & van Leeuwen, T. (1996). Reading images: the grammar of visual Design. Psychology Press: United Kingdom. Paltridge, B. (2012). Discourse analysis: An introduction. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. London: United Kingdom. Propp, V. (1958). Morphology of the Folktale. Texas University Press. Reeves, S., Kuper, A., & Hodges, B. D. (2008). Qualitative research methodologies: ethnography. Bmj, 337:a879.https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a879 Schiffrin, D., Tannen, D., & Hamilton, H. E. (Eds). (2003). The handbook of discourse Analysis. Wiley-Blackwell: New Jersey Schneider, F. (2013). How to do a discourse analysis. Politics East Asia. http://www.politicseast asia.com/studying/how-to-do-a-discourse-analysis

Chapter 29

Sampling Techniques for Qualitative Research Heather Douglas

Abstract This chapter explains how to design suitable sampling strategies for qualitative research. The focus of this chapter is purposive (or theoretical) sampling to produce credible and trustworthy explanations of a phenomenon (a specific aspect of society). A specific research question (RQ) guides the methodology (the study design or approach). It defines the participants, location, and actions to be used to answer the question. Qualitative studies use specific tools and techniques (methods) to sample people, organizations, or whatever is to be examined. The methodology guides the selection of tools and techniques for sampling, data analysis, quality assurance, etc. These all vary according to the purpose and design of the study and the RQ. In this chapter, a fake example is used to demonstrate how to apply your sampling strategy in a developing country. Keywords Phenomenon. Methodology. Research Question. Methods. Tools and Techniques. Purposive Sampling. Sampling Frame. Trustworthiness

Introduction The purpose of a qualitative study is to understand or explain a specific phenomenon. A phenomenon is a specific aspect of social practice, event, issue, situation, or behaviour. An inductive qualitative approach is used when very little is known about the phenomenon, or when the phenomenon is complex, or when you need to assess the implications for some reason. Qualitative research seeks to explore the understandings (what is known), experiences (what has happened), and/or viewpoints of people who are involved with the phenomenon. These can be established when researchers design and carry out a trustworthy study by using the right approach, tools, and techniques.

H. Douglas (B) The University of Queensland, The Royal Society of Queensland, Activation Australia, Brisbane, Australia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_29

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Qualitative researchers know that the social setting of the phenomenon always influences the understandings and experiences of people in that setting. A trustworthy study can explain why these differences exist, and how different experiences or viewpoints occur. Trustworthiness is a central part of a qualitative study. A trustworthy study means your approach and methods are appropriate, and you have conducted all aspects of your study in a way so that your findings are credible and reliable (qualitative studies produce findings, quantitative studies produce results). Before you start collecting data, you must be very clear about what exactly you are trying to understand (this is the study objective). Being very clear about the objective before you start will help you decide exactly how you will conduct the study. Then you decide the specific aspects of the phenomenon you will examine (these are the concepts)—you will be able to identify relevant concepts from your previous study of the theoretical literature). After this, you should write a short specific question that states your objective, the phenomenon you will study, and the limits of the study, especially the specific location/s, and the kinds of people, groups or organizations, etc., you plan to investigate). This sentence becomes the research question (RQ). Then, you can decide what theory and research traditions will guide your investigation, and the most suitable study design (quantitative or qualitative). After this, you can design an appropriate sampling strategy. Each study will use a different sampling strategy to examine the phenomenon. You might investigate just one person, family, organization, or community, or you might compare one phenomenon in different places. For example, you might talk to different kinds of people to understand a particular issue in one place (Douglas, 1999) or examine the issues for a group of people in one place (Douglas, 2006), or you might aim to understand how a disabled child affects a family (Douglas & Borbasi, 2009). Your study might examine how small enterprises operate in one place (Douglas, 2010), or one country (Douglas et al., 2018a), or compare variations of a particular kind of organization in different countries (Douglas et al., 2018b).

Sampling Strategies in Qualitative Research It is very time-consuming to collect and analyse data, and it is very time-consuming in qualitative research. This means it is very expensive to conduct a large study. For this reason, deliberately sampling from a suitable population is an essential aspect of qualitative social research. The main goal of a qualitative sampling strategy is to define the population that is involved with and/or affected by the phenomenon. This is called the ‘unit of analysis’. People (usual individuals) are the most common unit of analysis in a qualitative inquiry, but study participants also might be organizations, villages, events, nations, or even artefacts (such as texts, photos, or tools). Once you know the unit of analysis, you can design a suitable strategy to sample the correct population. Qualitative studies do not rely on mathematical analyses. Only a small number of participants (people, groups, organizations, etc.) provide data, so it is essential to

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carefully select the most suitable participants, who will generate the best possible data so you can produce trustworthy findings. The most suitable participants will vary, but the RQ will guide your decision for study participants.

Purposive Sampling Purposive (or purposeful) sampling is a non-probability technique used to deliberately select the best sources of data to meet the purpose of the study. Purposive sampling is sometimes referred to as theoretical or selective or specific sampling. Theoretical sampling is used in qualitative research when a study is designed to develop a theory. Specific (also known as selective or critical) sampling is frequently used in an exploratory study which seeks simply to understand a phenomenon about which not much is known so that further studies might be developed. The value of purposive sampling is that it allows the researcher to collect only the necessary data. This is important, as it takes much more time to analyse qualitative data than quantitative data. Limiting the number of participants reduces the amount of data to be analysed, which in turn reduces the time (and cost) to finish a good quality study.

Different Forms of Purposive Sampling Using a purposive sampling strategy, the researcher invites specific participants to provide information (data) based on the researcher’s informed judgement of who is likely to provide the best information to meet the study objectives. Deciding who is to be invited to participate is based on prior knowledge gained from a review of the academic literature or previous research, or some form of experience of the phenomenon, or other reliable sources of knowledge. In a deliberate purposive sampling strategy, the researcher has some options to select study participants including homogeneous, maximum variation, expert, selective, and typical case sampling. Homogeneous sampling is used when the researcher wishes to access information from many participants with the same characteristics. Each participant has a particular characteristic or experience that the researcher is investigating. A homogeneous sample might be chosen if the RQ is quite specific, and the phenomenon is already known to relate to a particular group of participants. A homogenous sample might consist of people of the same age, gender, ethnicity, occupation, or from a single organization or region, or with similar backgrounds (such as being an orphan) or common experiences (such as homelessness). Homogenous sampling allows the researcher to develop a deep understanding of the phenomenon.

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Maximum variation sampling selects participants (people, organizations, places, events) across the range of typical and also unusual experiences, behaviours, qualities, or viewpoints. This technique allows the researcher to capture a wide range of views and/or lived experiences to build a very good understanding of the phenomenon. The sampling technique allows the researcher to identify common aspects that occur across a broad sample, so it is often used when the researcher seeks to explain rather than simply explore a phenomenon. Expert sampling is finding individuals with a very good understanding of the phenomenon. This technique might be used at the beginning of a study to understand particular aspects for example when there are opposite views of the phenomenon in the literature. It also might be used at the end of a study to investigate aspects of the analysed data which the researcher does not yet understand. Selective sampling involves the researcher finding particular people or cases (e.g., organizations) that are special or unusual in some way. This technique might be used to examine a particular aspect of the phenomenon such as an individual, organization, or place which did something differently or had a different outcome from the same technique. Deliberately investigating particular individuals or cases which are very different often provides valuable information to demonstrate why the phenomenon differs across a sample. Typical case sampling is a technique the researcher would use when the objective is to understand usual patterns of experiences, characteristics, behaviours, and so on. This is used in a similar way to homogenous sampling. By selecting cases that demonstrate common characteristics, the researcher can examine aspects of the phenomenon which regularly appear in these types of organizations, events, or places depending on the unit of analysis. Convenience sampling is not recommended for qualitative research. In inconvenience sampling, the researcher collects data from anyone willing and available (such as students). This is not likely to produce useful, good quality data since the study participants are not necessarily the most people to inform the RQ. Total population sampling also is not recommended. Gathering data from everyone involved in the phenomenon produces an enormous amount of data. It is difficult and overwhelming to analyse a vast quantity of data. Instead, researchers usually use deliberate or purposive sampling strategies to select potential study participants.

Ethical Issues in Sampling You need to think about ethics and quality issues before you start your study. You will note that I discuss sampling about ‘potential participants. Researchers should never assume that a participant will be interested or willing to participate in a study. Instead, it is our job to find the most suitable potential participant and then invite them

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to share their knowledge with us. If the person refuses to take part, we must accept their decision and invite another potential participant. Thus, voluntary participation is an essential ethical requirement of good quality research. There is some danger of paying participants. This might seem surprising if study participants are very poor people, but payment has ethical risks, and it may reduce the quality of the study findings. There are two important things to consider before you decide to pay participants. First, participants might attend because they are paid, but they might not necessarily be the best people to provide the best quality data. Second, paid participants are more likely to provide data that they think the researcher wants to hear. These risks are very real, and both have the potential to reduce the overall quality of the findings (see Draper et al., 2009).

Multiple Sampling Strategies for Different Stages of a Study In a study where little is known, or when you are examining a complex issue, you might use several different sampling strategies in different stages of a study. When you do this, the analysis of the data generated from each stage shapes the sampling strategy for the next stage. The researcher might use one technique at the beginning of the study (such as expert sampling) to explore usual patterns of behaviours or experiences and then use maximum variation sampling to explore different characteristics of the phenomenon. Alternatively, the researcher might explore the range of experiences with maximum variation sampling and then gain a deeper understanding by investigating one or two typical cases in depth. Both methods provide a very good understanding of a phenomenon; however, it would be a large study, and this would be expensive.

Constructing a Sampling Frame Sampling is a deliberate process of selecting potential participants from a sampling frame of those we anticipate could provide useful information to answer the RQ. The researcher does not guess who to sample. Instead, researchers make an informed judgement based on a review of papers published in quality academic journals and reports of studies published by good quality sources such as United Nations agencies and governments. Knowing we need to invite potential participants to participate in the study, exactly how do we go about selecting study participants? Researchers select potential participants for a qualitative study from a sample frame, that is, the total population of those who are involved in or affected by the phenomenon being investigated. This population must be specific, and the researcher should think beyond the obvious. For example, in the Fijian education study described above, the population would consist of all families with children in an area or region; but the population for the sampling frame is broader than these families. The

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researcher should also include schools and government policy officers in the region, education academics, and so on. It is also wise to include in the sampling frame those who are involved with the phenomenon—in this case, the children—since they will have some views which should be heard. Naturally, not everyone involved can be included in a study. This would take a lot of time and produce much more data than is required to answer the RQ. So the researcher must devise a strategy to select the most suitable potential participants who are likely to provide useful information to answer the RQ. The researcher knows who (or what) is in the sampling frame—that is, the kind of participants they are looking for. Based on their reviews of previous studies, the researcher knows the age, gender, background, class, income levels, organizational size, locations, etc., of potential participants. The next step is to decide who to approach first. Ideally, the researcher will approach potential participants directly, rather than use an indirect strategy such as posting a general invitation on Facebook. Often, the researcher already knows an individual or group who has some experience of the phenomenon. In the education study described below, the researcher may already know two families who do or do not send their children to school. In this case, the researcher could call or email or otherwise directly approach each of these families, explain what the study is designed to do, and invite each family to participate in the study. Having collected and analysed this data, the researcher could then decide who else they want to interview until they can answer the RQ. However, this random approach is probably not the best way to start sampling. Sometimes, it is difficult to find a starting point, or sometimes, the most useful study participants are not easy to find. The researcher needs to be creative in this situation and think laterally about where they might find potential study participants. For example, I recently did a study of small enterprises that had ceased to operate, wanting to know what had affected the decision to close down. I looked for small enterprises that had recently closed, but it was not easy to find them. Eventually, I identified a particular kind of person who would be likely to know of small enterprises in their local area that had closed. This person helped identify several people I could contact. This sampling strategy was very successful and I rapidly located sufficient study participants to complete the study (I reported this technique in a conference paper, see Douglas, 2007). There is a simpler way to implement purposive sampling, but first, we must consider the number of participants we are seeking.

How Many Participants Is Enough? We now understand why we would do a quantitative study and who we would select for different kinds of studies (i.e., what units of analysis we are looking for, and where we would find these potential participants). We also know when and what kinds of sampling strategies we might use, and how we would invite participants to be part of the study. Next, we need to decide how many participants we need. The answer to this question is a simple rule: we continue to sample and collect data until

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we can explain and/or understand a phenomenon and can answer the RQ. Once the researcher can answer the RQ, the study has reached ‘saturation’, that is, new data are not adding to our understanding of the phenomenon. Then, we stop collecting and analysing data. Thus, the capacity of the researcher to understand the phenomenon and answer the RQ determines the number of participants who are invited to contribute their data to the study. Often, the sample is very small, possibly as small as three case studies, or 25 or 30 interviewees. The sample might be large as 1500 participants (or even more) from diverse backgrounds and life experiences if the phenomenon is complex or is associated with high risks for policy decisions. An example of this kind of study would be a government that wants to understand a topic that is already identified as being sensitive such as community views on nuclear power stations. This would be very expensive, and it would need substantial funding. In a purposive sampling strategy, we deliberately sample across all the known elements (concepts) that we anticipate might be important. The easiest way to select suitable study participants is to use a matrix and select a range of participants in a pattern across all of the criteria. We do not need to find a participant that meets the known variations of every element. Instead, we make sure we cover each element several times so there is variation across the sample. In this way, we are likely to access good quality information from the smallest number of study participants.

Sampling Example: Education Study in Fiji This section explores how to implement a sampling strategy. Let us consider a study seeking to understand ‘why children from Fijian families tend not to complete high school?’ Let us assume this study was commissioned to inform government policy. Governments always like numbers. A quantitative study could survey a random sample of Fijians (for example Puamua, 1999). However, we know that a quantitative survey will not easily explain why or how events or situations occur, so the researcher decides to conduct a qualitative study. How would you design the sampling strategy? Initially, you might expect to find families living in rural places are less likely to send their children to school. Or that religion influences girls’ education. Or that school attendance would be lower if there are not many schools nearby, or that good teachers prefer to work in highincome areas. Or there might be some other reason that you do not know about. The researcher will start by talking to local people with knowledge of the issue who could help understand the problem. Then, they would review published articles to find out what is already known. These two steps will identify which concepts should be explored. The aim at this early exploratory stage is to understand what is happening across the whole Fijian population, but we do not want to survey or talk to everyone. Simply talking to a large number of Fijians would not necessarily give a clear picture of the issue. Understanding this issue is best done by exploring different viewpoints from

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different kinds of people. In this example, Fijian families are the unit of analysis, not schools or the Fijian education system, but the research would not involve all Fijian families or all schools. Data for this study should be generated from purposive sampling. In this qualitative study, we would deliberately purposefully sample participants with different backgrounds and experiences of education to understand the variety of issues that might influence how and why Fijian families educate their children and would then provide a deep understanding of how and why the issue is occurring. The most important information for this study will come from parents and their children. But the first round of interviews would be with relevant Fijian and local government officials. These people would tell us what they know. We might invite them to discuss what they do not understand. Others with knowledge of the issue would include school principals, teachers, the owners of private Fijian schools, and different agencies that provide support for families in each locality—health services, support agencies for poor families, services providing transport for children to school, and so on. This is a very large set of informants, so we would not immediately talk to everyone. However, we might expand the sample towards the end of the study if the RQ is not answered after talking to the Fijian families. To answer the RQ, the researcher would purposefully design a sampling strategy to maximize the diversity of the Fijian families who have children of school age. This purposive sampling process would deliberately seek input from different kinds of families: wealthy and poor, large and small, in rural and city locations, and different ethnic and religious backgrounds. Once the extent of the potential population is established, the researcher would try to limit the data collection, as this reduces both the time and cost to complete the study. The researcher would consider whether they need to sample families across all of the Fijian islands, or whether a single location would be sufficient. The RQ and purpose of the study help the researcher answer this question. In this example, the study aims to inform government policy, so sampling should be in several sites to explore elements that affect education in different ways. Influences on education might include the family size and income, school fees, different school types, distance between schools, employment of family members, or different kinds of industries in the region. The concepts to be sampled would probably include the gender of the child, the family ethnicity, and the number of children in the family. The sample would consist of small and large families, with different income levels living in different kinds of places (towns and rural villages, in large and small islands). Families with children of different ages would be systematically sampled, along with different social backgrounds, ethnicities, and religions. We know that parents make educated decisions, so we should also sample the parent’s age and level of education. The Fijian population consists of two main cultural groups, with Fijians with Indian heritage consisting of approximately 45% of the population. When there is a significantly different cultural group in the population, we need to sample both groups proportionally. In this study, approximately 45% of the sample should be Fijians with Indian heritage. We should oversample a minority group if there is a significant minority that is less than 25% of the population. To oversample, you

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would select a proportionally larger sample from the minority group. Oversampling ensures the data have sufficient content from the minority group so we can understand issues and viewpoints across the whole population. This sampling strategy ensures you access data from a diverse group of people. But there is another matter we must consider. Fiji is a small country, but there are significant differences between towns and villages, remote islands, etc. Therefore, we need to sample these families in different locations to be sure we understand the phenomenon. At least, three different kinds of sites would be appropriate (a large town, a village on a large island, and at least one but preferably two or three villages on small remote islands). Please note that it is important to use the same sampling strategy in each location so the data are consistent—this helps to produce trustworthy findings. Figure 29.1 shows a matrix pattern to sample across several criteria, showing you do not need to sample every concept in every location if you make sure you always collect data from people who meet several criteria. It is important to maximize the diversity across the sample when you use a matrix like this. Now, we are ready to collect data. Start with the group who are easiest to access and the most obvious sources. In this study, we could start by investigating a critical case in a mainstream school that will demonstrate the phenomenon being investigated. This would probably be a large government school in the main town. We would visit this school, talk to the Principal, discuss the study with them, and invite them to

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Fig. 29.1 Sampling matrix example for an education study. Source Author

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participate in the study. But we are investigating families, not schools, so we would ask the Principal to help us invite suitable parents to participate in the study. We would ask the Principal if families varied in ways that might affect their education intentions (based on knowledge from previous studies) and then ask for a list of families at that school. Alternatively, we could put information about the study on a notice board and invite parents to contact us. This second method is an indirect sampling strategy which is similar to convenience sampling, so it is less likely to produce reliable information than the first sampling method, so we would not do this unless we had to. The list of families from this first school then becomes the first sampling frame. Based on our discussion with the Principal, we would deliberately select three to five families that we anticipate will provide good information (remembering to maximize diversity in the sample). We invite five families (parents and children) to be interviewed. We will still not be able to answer the RQ because we have only sampled one population. Therefore, after analysing this first round of data, we move on to the second school in this same location. We then deliberately select schools in different locations that are likely to provide variation in elements we have identified from the first round of data analysis. For example, if most of the children in the first study site are from middle-income families, the second school might have some poor families (maximum variation strategy). These interviews with families from the second school are likely to provide information that will differ from the first set of families. After analysing this data, we might think we understand what is happening in government schools, so we could then interview several families from the private schools. We should also deliberately select families from the second ethnic group and deliberately sample different kinds of people from the first round of interviews. We should aim to sample different kinds of schools—perhaps a non-profit school and a commercial or special school. Then, we do this the same way in another two or three locations in the main town. We then repeat this process in at least two different kinds of locations. The study is finished when we can answer the RQ after analysing the data. If we cannot answer the RQ, we keep collecting and analysing the data until we can answer the RQ. Analysing and comparing the data provided by different kinds of families (remember we are investigating families, not schools) might answer the RQ. If not, then this comparative analysis would inform the next stage of the study, which might be a series of in-depth interviews with key informants such as education academics, government policy officers, and school principals from both government and private. All of these key informants would have a very good understanding of education in this location. At each stage of the study, the sampling strategy would be informed by the understandings already gained during the previous analyses of the data, i.e., from families at the two or three schools and the key informant interviews. Note that each stage of this study would have a different list of potential participants who the researcher considers might add valuable information to the RQ. Finally, if the RQ still cannot be answered, and we have sufficient resources left, the researcher might examine the specific issues that emerge from the analysis of all this data from families and the key informants. We might conduct a series of

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focus groups—first with mothers, then fathers, then children, and then teachers— to compare attitudes to education among wealthy and poor families, families with different ethnic backgrounds, and so on. Or we might organize a discussion among children from different locations, or civic leaders or religious groups, or whatever element the researcher has identified in the data analysis as inconsistent and not yet understood. Before deciding who to invite to a focus group as the final stage of this study, the researcher would need to construct a sampling frame as before. Before finalizing the study after the data are analysed, we should review the purpose of the study and make sure the sampling has been suitable to cover the population. In this Fijian example, we needed to think about whether schools are all the same. Does the government provide all schools, or are some schools provided by religious groups or private organizations? In Fiji, the government provides nearly all schools, but some schools are provided by private organizations. If there is a significant number of schools offered by agencies or the government, we needed to sample families not only in different locations but also from different types of schools. And we also needed to deliberately sample the two main ethnic groups (proportionally as for the population discussed above). Once we are sure we have sampled adequately, we can have more confidence that the findings are trustworthy.

Conclusions of Sampling Strategies in Qualitative Studies • A qualitative study aims to sample appropriately and collect and analyse data to produce trustworthy findings. • The researcher will design a sampling strategy to select study participants after deciding the purpose of the study, the specific research question this study will answer, and the limits of the study (such as the unit of analysis, location, period, etc., of the study). • This sampling decision is based on the researchers’ informed assessment of which participants are most likely to provide the best information (data) to gain meaning and understanding so the researcher can answer the RQ. • Purposive sampling allows the researcher to carefully alter the study participants as the data are progressively collected and analysed. This sampling strategy reduces the need to collect and analyse too much data and thus reduces the time and resources needed to finish a study. • Qualitative studies sampled purposively in this way are likely to produce credible and trustworthy findings that explain the phenomenon being studied.

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References Douglas, H. (2010). Divergent orientations in social entrepreneurship organisations. In K. Hockerts, J. Robinson, & J. Mair (Eds.), Values and opportunities in social entrepreneurship (pp. 71–95). Palgrave Macmillan. Douglas, H., Eti-Tofinga, B., & Singh, G. (2018a). Contextualising social enterprise in Fiji. Social Enterprise Journal, 14(2), 208–224. https://doi.org/10.1108/SEJ-05-2017-0032 Douglas, H., Eti-Tofinga, B., & Singh, G. (2018b). Hybrid organisations contributing to wellbeing in small Pacific island countries. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 9(4), 490–514. https://doi.org/10.1108/SAMPJ-08-2017-0081 Douglas, H., & Borbasi, S. (2009). Parental perspectives on disability: The story of Sam, Anna, and Marcus. Disabilities: Insights from across fields and around the world, 2, 201–217. Douglas, H. (1999). Community transport in rural Queensland: Using community resources effectively in small communities. Paper presented at the 5th National Rural Health Conference, Adelaide, South Australia, pp. 14–17th March. Douglas, H. (2006). Action, blastoff, chaos: ABC of successful youth participation. Child, Youth and Environments, 16(1). Retrieved from http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye Douglas, H. (2007). Methodological sampling issues for researching new nonprofit organisations. Paper presented at the 52nd International Council for Small Business (ICSB) 13–15 June, Turku, Finland. Draper, H., Wilson, S., Flanagan, S., & Ives, J. (2009). Offering payments, reimbursement and incentives to patients and family doctors to encourage participation in research. Family Practice, 26(3), 231–238. https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmp011 Puamua, P. Q. (1999). Understanding Fijian under-achievement: An integrated perspective. Directions, 21(2), 100–112.

Chapter 30

Data Analysis Techniques for Qualitative Study Heather Douglas

Abstract This chapter describes how to analyse qualitative data to produce authentic findings. Analysis of qualitative data must be a slow and careful process. This chapter will only discuss how to analyse text since this is the most common form of data in qualitative studies. Text is written language, such as field notes, transcribed interviews and focus group discussions, reports, organizational records, journal articles, or website/social media information. Qualitative data include photos and videos, objects and artefacts, and actions and sounds. More complex data include events, organizational processes, or interactions between people. This chapter will discuss the interview and similar written data since novice researchers often generate these data: however, the analysis process is similar for all textual data. The analysis process described in this chapter is based on a simple grounded theory approach Thomas (Am J Eval 27:237–246, 2006). Thomas’s approach is simpler for novices than that described by Glaser (Emergence versus forcing: Basics of grounded theory analysis. Sociology Press, 1992) or Strauss and Corbin (Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Sage, 1990), but it must be done correctly to produce trustworthy findings. Keywords Trustworthy · Interviews · Text · Grounded theory · Approach · Concepts · Clusters · Themes · Synthesis · Interpreting · Chain of evidence

Introduction Qualitative studies examine a specific phenomenon in a specific situation. Using qualitative techniques allows researchers to understand a particular topic in great depth. Researchers use qualitative techniques for three reasons: (1) to define concepts; (2) to explain a specific aspect of an earlier study that is not clear, or (3) to build theory. An excellent study using qualitative techniques will always produce interesting new information. The phenomenon will be understood, key concepts will be defined, the H. Douglas (B) The University of Queensland, The Royal Society of Queensland, and Activation Australia, Brisbane, Australia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_30

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study will add to existing knowledge, and a new theory will result. Having defined core concepts and established how these operate in a particular situation, a future study could investigate causality or connections among concepts. We should always try to produce reliable research findings. Why else would we research? All aspects of qualitative studies must be done carefully if we are to produce good quality authentic, trustworthy, and truthful findings (Alvesson, 2010). For findings to be trustworthy, all research processes, including sampling, data collection, and analysis, must be rigorous and robust so the findings are authentic and truthful. Qualitative researchers do not try to confirm causes, and they never claim that their findings are generalizable to other situations. A qualitative study always applies to a specific situation, context, and location. This does not mean that qualitative research is less valuable than other kinds of research. It does mean that the rich and meaningful findings relate to a specific time and place. The researcher should always make this statement when they write up the study findings. Once the study findings are identified, the researcher will report the findings. Note—quantitative studies produce results; qualitative studies create findings.

Aim of Qualitative Analysis Qualitative research has two main aims: to make sense of the data (Weick, 1995) so the researcher can answer the specific research question. Succeeding with these aims involves much more than coding data.

Preparing for Data Analysis In many qualitative studies, data are gathered by speaking directly to participants in interviews or focus groups. Naturally, you should do the interview or focus group in a quiet place so you can hear what each participant is saying. For qualitative research to be trustworthy, you need to analyse exactly what each participant said. For this reason, you should audio record the interviews or focus groups. If the recording is not possible, you should capture the exact statements of each participant by having at least two people taking notes of exactly what each person is saying. You might also take notes during the interview, as these add to the recorded data, but analysing notes without recording data is not sufficient for a qualitative study to be considered trustworthy. If this is not possible, then having will allow the researcher to understand what the participant said. Focus groups are usually noisy, so use at least two devices. Create a chain of evidence all through the research process. This is done by keeping detailed records of all your actions, and why you made decisions. Record when and where each interview took place and why you invited every person to participate. An Excel spreadsheet is a useful way to record these notes as they can be searched easily or reorganized if that is necessary. Note the day and date of the

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interview or focus group, starting and finishing times, if you had interruptions if some questions were difficult for participants, and so on. Make good notes as soon as you finish the interview to help you recall what happened. Keep records of when you transcribed each interview, and the pseudonym or codename you gave each participant. Note any significant elements that emerged during the initial analysis of each interview. All these notes will help you understand the data when you start the analysis. In a separate file, keep notes of your analysis processes and your thoughts and ideas as you progress. This chain of evidence adds to the quality, rigour, and trustworthiness of the research process. These records will help you recall what happened and understand why you did what you did. The chain of evidence will help you justify your methodology in your report, or to an examiner or journal reviewer. It will also allow you to do additional data analyses if necessary. It is much easier and faster to transcribe each interview on the same day than to do lots of interviews and transcribe them after a few days. Transcribing immediately means you will remember much of what was said, how the interview progressed, and any emotions, unusual responses, or other features that might be important in the analysis. Thus, you transcribe faster and more accurately. Finally, make paper or electronic copies of absolutely everything—your interview schedule, code names, transcripts, analysis files, notes, etc. Mishaps occur, so keep the original files in a safe place and analyse the copies so you can return to the original to check anything if necessary.

Analysis Process Qualitative data analysis is a slow process of moving backwards and forwards between the research question (RQ), theory, and your data from the transcribed interviews while thinking about the context of your study. Although it takes time, it is essential to be systematic and rigorous to create trustworthy findings. Where to start To start, print each interview transcript with a wide margin on one side and make notes as you read. Try to start with an open mind. Try to have no assumptions about what you will find in the analysis. It is difficult to work this way, but it will help you to see what is actually in the data, not looking at what you think might be there. Qualitative data analysis has five stages. The first stage is when you see what is in each interview transcript and identify important concepts. In the second stage, you compare the concepts and identify a few important themes. In the third stage, you review your initial analysis by going back to the original texts and ensuring your concepts and themes are truthful for your data. The fourth stage involves turning your analysis into robust findings. The final stage is to write up your findings. You must be methodological and systematic to produce trustworthy findings, so you cannot hurry the analysis process.

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1st stage of qualitative data analysis—identifying concepts • You need to become very familiar with each text. Read the interview transcript several times so you know what the person said. We will now call this the ‘text’. • As you read, note anything obvious, e.g., support for statements in other interviews, contradictions, things needing to be clarified, or statements that do not support the theory. • Go back through the interview and systematically review each text about the RQ. • Ask yourself “what is this person saying” and “what does this statement mean” and “how does this help us understand the RQ”? • With different coloured markers, highlight short statements or sections within the text. Each colour will indicate different things, e.g., historical events, or statements relating to economic matters, statements contradicting other participants, statements supporting previous theory, or anything that is very important for the RQ. Especially note anything interesting or different from other interviews. • Ask yourself as you read “is this idea the same as something I found previously” or if different “why is it different?” Differences may occur because participants have different experiences or viewpoints, or because you have started to ask clarifying questions during interviews. • Consider what each highlighted segment relates to and give it a name. I like to use a pencil as you can then change the name of the concept if you wish. These will be the concepts in each text that are relevant to the RQ. • Highlight statements that may be useful as evidence; when you write up the study, this will add to trustworthiness. • The text will now look like a rainbow with overlapping colours. Usually, you will have a large amount of data that is not marked as it is not useful. • Summarize the data in this text. • Keep notes as you analyse each text on what you are finding. Especially note what relates to the RQ—your study must answer the RQ! • You might also like to note interesting stuff that is beyond the RQ in a separate file—you may come back to this at a later date when this study is finished so you can write another paper or prepare another study to clarify some issues raised in this one that is not part of this RQ. By noting them here, you can then let them go for this study as you can then be sure you will not forget later, so you can forget it now… • Then move on to the next text and do the same thing until you have analysed each text. 2nd stage—making sense of the data and identifying themes • This stage involves identifying clusters of concepts from the data and grouping these into higher-order themes. As you review the initial concepts, you will identify themes, that is, a simpler and a higher-level idea that relates to clusters of concepts in the texts. Not all themes will be in each text. • First, make a list of all the concepts you identified in all of the interviews. Each text might have about 30 concepts, so you will have a very long list!

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• Now you need to identify recurring patterns of statements and bring these together into a shorter list of themes. Start by bringing all of the concepts into clusters. • Many people find it helpful to organize their material in different ways. Using different processes helps you find the connections. Using different analytical processes helps stop straight-line thinking. • You might like to use paper on a large wall. Draw lines between the clusters. Think about how they relate to each other. Each concept may relate to several others. Use sticky notes to help organize your thoughts. Move the sticky notes around. Try to organize a couple of clusters that relate to something new that is important. Reorganize as necessary. Draw new lines. Use different colours to trial new ways of organizing the clusters. Draw circles around the clusters that are strongly related to the RQ. • Alternatively, try drawing a concept map of the material logically. Add the clusters where they fit into the concept map. See if this fits with what you have found. • Some researchers like to create tables of concepts. Link each with text from the interviews. Think about what each table means, and how it relates to the RQ. Name each table. • Review all of these analysis processes about the RQ. You will now be able to identify clusters of concepts that are connected, and that gives meaning to the RQ. • When you are satisfied, consider what each cluster relates to and give each a name that describes what it is. • You will probably have 10 or perhaps 20 clusters. You must reduce the number of clusters until it is meaningful, and so you can report your findings. So you now must organize the clusters into a few higher-level groups of ideas that explain the main aspects of the data. Reduce the clusters to three or four and no more than six sets of clusters. • Think about differences and identify connections. Ask yourself “what does this concept cluster relate to”, “is this concept cluster the same or different from those in the other transcripts”, and “what are the links between this and other clusters”. • Think about how each cluster relates to the RQ. Try bringing different clusters together and identify aspects that explain the RQ. Keep trying until you can organize three or no more than five circles of clusters that are important in explaining the RQ. Give each a name that describes the idea. These clusters of concepts will become themes. • This second stage is very messy. Don’t hurry. It takes a long time to organize all your concepts into logical themes that summarize what the interviewees said. Be precise—this step is the central part of your data analysis. 3rd stage—verifying initial analysis • The next step is to verify your initial analysis. You will need to go back to the original data regularly to make sure that what you think you have found is what is actually in the data.

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• In this stage of the analysis, you are trying to understand exactly what is in the text to ensure authenticity. Your analysis and findings must be directly linked to your data. You must be methodical so the findings are authentic. • Work back and forth between the concepts, texts, clusters of concepts, texts, and clusters. • Go back to the interview transcripts and your notes. Review the summary of each transcript and make sure the themes you have identified relate to what is in the texts. • Rename the clusters and themes to signal what is in the data. Reorganize the clusters as necessary. • Do this process as many times as you need to. It will take time. In the end, you will be certain that the clusters of concepts (themes) are true to what is in your interview data. And you will be sure that the themes add something meaningful to the RQ. • This third stage of verifying the data analysis takes quite a lot of time. It is essential to produce rigorous and trustworthy findings. 4th stage—merging and interpreting your findings • The fourth stage is to consolidate the groupings of themes you have found in the text into a robust finding for your study. • This is ‘synthesizing’, or a process of merging your findings to answer the RQ and identify new or contradictory material. • Think about the themes, and how they relate to the RQ and theory. • Step back from the data and think about what you have found. • Once you are clear about your analysis and findings, ask yourself what this all means. • First, think about what you found in your analysis and how your findings help you to understand the RQ. Have you found something new? How and why is what you have found important to others? • Think about how the themes you found add to what is already known in practice. Is there something new, or do your findings confirm what is already known? • Think about how your analysis relates to theory. Did you find something new? If so, is it important, and if so, why? • Stop when you are quite sure that you have made sense of the data, and you can now answer the RQ. If you have found something new, you may also be able to add a new theory. • This stage mainly involves time thinking, reflecting, and reviewing your findings of existing practice, and what has been identified previously in theory. 5th stage—write up the findings No study is finished until you share your findings so others can discover what you now know. It is not good enough for only you to know your findings, you must present your findings so others can also know and understand. Usually, you will write a report: sometimes, you will present your findings verbally to others, with

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illustrations so others can understand how you did your study and what you found. Think about who might be interested in what you have found and write or present something suitable for that audience.

Conclusions Qualitative research is an exciting way to understand new things. A single qualitative study does not produce generalizable findings, but when you use rigorous methods, qualitative studies always produce interesting new information. Findings from qualitative studies identify new concepts that can then be verified with other studies in different locations or with different kinds of participants. To produce trustworthy findings, qualitative data must be analysed with a rigorous systematic approach. This chapter has described the five stages involved in analysing qualitative data: • • • • •

Identify the concepts in your data. Make sense of your data and merge concepts into unifying themes. Verify your initial analysis. Merge and interpret your findings. Write up your findings.

References Alvesson, M. (2010). Interpreting Interviews. Sage. Glaser, B. G. (1992). Emergence vs forcing: Basics of grounded theory analysis. Sociology Press. Strauss, A. L., & Corbin, J. M. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Sage. Thomas, A. (2006). A general inductive approach to analysing qualitative evaluation data. American Journal of Evaluation, 27(2), 237–246. Weick, K. E. (1995). Sensemaking in organizations. Sage.

Part V

Mixed Method Approach

Chapter 31

Designing a Research Proposal in Mixed-Method Approach Lokasundari Vijaya Sankar

Abstract A research proposal is an important document that outlines a plan for a research study. It should contain pertinent and sufficient information for the application of grants, scholarships, these proposals, and other scientific studies to be examined and approved by a panel of examiners. A research proposal should first introduce the topic of study and its importance to the scientific community. It will further give an argument as to why the study is important and outline the objective and research questions that drive the study. A detailed plan for the study should be arrived at, describing theoretical bases, the sample for the study and the data collection and analysis methods. A plan of execution should also be included. Keywords Research proposal · Research design · Plan of a scientific study

Introduction A research proposal is a plan to conduct a scientific study. It needs to detail the topic under consideration and the issues surrounding the topic and outline the objective and the questions that need addressing amid the current theory and knowledge surrounding the topic and the debates about it. Further, research proposals should clearly state how the study will be carried out by outlining the methodology clearly and succinctly. Finally, it should identify the potential contribution of the study for practice and possibility theory. Research proposals may be required by funding agencies, industries, or universities. The reasons for each may be different. A funding agency will normally fund a research project that will benefit society in general and improve knowledge (such as poverty eradication, better growth of crops, or ways of improving the education system for instance) while industries tend to fund projects that will result in new technologies or new models of their products that will in turn boost sales of their products (new models of cars, phones, or computers for instance). Universities on L. V. Sankar (B) School of Communication, Taylor University, Subang Jaya, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_31

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the other hand require proposals for the completion of postgraduate degrees such as a Masters or a Doctoral degree. Whatever the reasons may be, all agencies studying a research proposal want to know: • • • • • • • • • •

What the purpose of research is. What the significance of the research is. What limitations there are to the study. What the cost of the research will be. How long it will take to complete the study. What people, tools and other amenities are required to conduct the study. How the study will be conducted. What findings are expected. What the benefits of the study will be. What long term profits such a study will give the company/university/funding agency. • Ethical considerations that might occur during the conduct of the study. Examiners of a research proposal will examine: 1. The cost factor and whether the study can be afforded. They will also set up an investigative body to ensure that the money is properly spent and that the researcher is monitored when requests for money are made. 2. The quality and value of the study. An academic panel will read and ensure that the research proposal is sound and that it complies with all academic and scientific principles. 3. The benefits that the proposed study may give. The agency/company responsible for the research will monitor the cost–benefit factor so that money is well spent for future profits. Definition Prominent scholar, John Creswell, defines the mixed-method approach as ‘the collection or analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study’ (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011: 212). The definition points to the use of both quantitative and qualitative techniques to fulfil the aims of a study. Types of methodology for writing a research proposal A research proposal can be qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods in approach. In this chapter, an outline of how to write a proposal using the mixed-method approach is given as follows: Design of a research proposal using a mixed-method approach Researchers preparing to conduct a study should first do a thorough reading about their topics so that they are familiar with all the research that has been done on the topic, the debates surrounding the topic and the methodologies that have been used by other researchers successfully, theories used, and the findings that are already

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available on the topic. This reading of previous literature is essential so that any research proposed is one premised on knowledge of the area and so that the proposed study will add to available information on the topic to the scientific community and fill a knowledge gap. Research can be conducted using several broad methodologies such as qualitative and quantitative methods. Each type has its own merits based on the objectives of the study. Qualitative research aims to understand and deduce societal concerns for the phenomenon being studied, and it provides insights into the problems being studied. Qualitative research helps to uncover trends within the problem or phenomenon being studied. Qualitative studies are usually exploratory, and the data collection methods used are to promote this. The tools used to collect data can be innovative and not very structured to get data from individuals and groups in an unstructured manner the sample size need not be large as in quantitative studies. Normally, respondents are selected purposefully to obtain information to understand a phenomenon. Quantitative research, on the other hand, focuses on generating numerical data that can be presented in statistical form. It is usually used to test the relationships between constructs and other variables being studied. Quantitative studies use large sample data and so findings are generalized to the larger sample population. This methodology uses data that can be numerically measured to uncover patterns in research. Characteristics of a mixed-method approach An approach that uses several different methods to explore phenomenon(s) under study is known as using mixed-methods. This type of research is based on the two perspectives in research which are qualitative and quantitative methods. One can use research questions or hypotheses after examining the relevant literature to start a project. When using a two-pronged approach, the sample too can vary as can the size of the samples. When collecting data for this type of study, different techniques may be used following the protocols in qualitative and quantitative research. Interpretation of the data can be continual, and it influences the various stages in the research process. When and why to use mixed-methods in social research The mixed-method is used when the researcher feels that one single design is insufficient to investigate the problem at hand. Often, a mixed approach takes more time than a single approach but may be necessary when the objective of the research needs both a qualitative and quantitative approach, such as when it is necessary to explore a phenomenon, use a new instrument, test a theory, complement the strengths of one, and overcome the weaknesses of another design or look at a research problem or a theory in different ways. How to conduct a mixed-method A mixed approach to research uses techniques from both qualitative and quantitative methodologies in the collection and analysis of data in one single study. The reason

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for using this type of research is that, when qualitative and quantitative research is used together, a better understanding of the study questions, problems, or hypotheses is possible as opposed to using just one approach (Bulsara, 2014). Creswell (2003) suggests the following six design strategies for conducting mixedmethod research: 1. Sequential Explanatory This methodology involves using quantitative methods followed by qualitative methods. The reasoning behind this methodology is to use qualitative methods only to assist in a quantitative study. 2. Sequential Exploratory In this methodology, a qualitative methodology dominates initially, and subsequently, quantitative techniques are used to strengthen and assist in the data collection and analysis. This type of approach is good for exploratory studies. 3. Sequential Transformative In this approach, either method may be used first but at the analysis stage, both results are integrated to reveal answers to a research problem. 4. Concurrent Triangulation In this type of study, both methods are employed at the same time to validate and corroborate the results emerging from the study. This method capitalizes on the strengths of each method while attempting to overcome the weaknesses in each method. 5. Concurrent Nested In this method, one method is the dominant one while the other is embedded within the study. The reason for using this method is to one method for the dominant research question while another is used to answer questions arising from the dominant one. 6. Concurrent Transformative For studies that test a theoretical perspective, different methodologies are used to understand and evaluate the theory at different levels. Advantages of mixed-method research A mixed-method approach is useful in studies that wish to explore unexpected results from previous research, use different methodologies suited for exploring a phenomenon, and evaluate research instruments and theories and provide. Disadvantages of mixed-method research A mixed-method approach is time-consuming, poses problems when resolving discrepancies between different types of data, can provide unequal evidence, and can be difficult for the researcher to decide when to use which method.

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Structure of the Research Proposal for a Mixed-Method Study Title Page This page will have the title of the project and the researcher’s particulars which include name, student number, affiliation, and contact details. Abstract An abstract usually comes at the beginning of a research study, and it normally has between 150 and 300 words. It will outline the proposed study by saying something about the topic, specify the objectives and research questions and/or hypotheses, describe the theoretical framework used and the proposed mixed methodology to be used, and describe the data collection and analysis methods to be carried out. Keywords that describe the study must be given in italics (about 5 keywords). The keywords can be the topic itself, the theory to be used, the sample (if dealing with a particular culture or ethnicity), or any other descriptor that is important. An abstract is a short synopsis of the project. Table of Contents This section provides a clear picture of the research study by detailing and enumerating in an orderly fashion the contents of the study. It should be reader-friendly and list all major parts of the research study. A list of tables, figures, and illustrations should be included. Introduction The introduction should begin with a statement of what is being proposed and introduce the study clearly and succinctly. There should be sufficient background information to help readers to situate the research problem within the larger context of the topic being examined. It should also show how its solution will add to available knowledge or even be important to some agency or community. To do this, the introduction should flow naturally and describe the study using the following headings: Problem Statement This is a very important part of the research proposal because it shows that you are going to fill in an information gap. After reading your problem statement, the reader should be able to understand why you are doing this study and be convinced of its importance. To do this, present studies done in the recent past and review the findings discovered. A problem could exist in theory or practice, and it could lead to the need for your study. It might be that your gap is in content, geography, sample, tools, or theory. Say clearly how you intend to fill in the gap and where the gap exists.

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Objective Aims and objectives should be clearly stated in terms that show what you wish to achieve by the end of your dissertation or thesis. They should be clear concise statements of the intent expressed in general terms. To write your objective statement, be specific about what you wish to do. It is prudent to bear in mind that the objective should be doable or achievable within the time frame available for the research. Factors to consider when coming up with research aims are time and logistical constraints and access to the sample of the study. Research Questions State very clearly the phenomenon to be studied and presented as the main question and possibly a small set of sub-questions. They should also be formulated so that they ask the right questions that can fulfil the objectives of the study. Research questions should show the relationship between the concepts to be studied and the theory that is being used, or they can also aim to formulate new theories. Creating research questions is a task that requires much reading of literature related to the topic, understanding the theoretical focus, and merging it with the researcher’s interests. Definition of Key Terms The proposal should be written so that a general reader who does not know much about the proposed investigation can understand how and why this study will be conducted. This section defines important terms and concepts that are usually stated in the objectives and research questions. Subject-specific and technical terms or definitions created for the study should be defined so that words that are different in meaning from traditionally accepted meanings are clear to the reader. Use authoritative sources in the definitions of key terms. Significance of Study Here, you will outline why the study is important and who it will benefit from the study. This is in addition to the problem statement, and it will concentrate on how the findings of the study are crucial to the advancement of knowledge. Literature Review In this section, readings relevant to the topic should be selected carefully, reviewed, and presented critically. This is where the researcher can show that he/she is familiar with major works done on the topic. Work done by others should lead to a clear impression of what has already been done, the methodologies used, and the theories applied in previous studies. This section will show the need to conduct the study and how the study will be able to fill in a knowledge gap regarding the topic in question. Methodology or Research Design In this section, a description of the proposed research should be given clearly so that other specialists in the area can study, vet, and understand your design. This section

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is very important, and it is necessary to justify the mixed-method approach for the study. Explain what the purpose of the qualitative method is and what the purpose of the quantitative method is and in which order each method will be applied. It will be prudent to be realistic about the study so that the design is achievable and can be accomplished in the time frame available. Theoretical Framework Describe clearly the theoretical focus of the study, the philosophy that it carries, and the implications that it has for your proposed study. Who is the proponent of the theory? Who else has built upon the theory? Will this study be using the main theory or will you use a model that has arisen from it? Have studies been conducted using the proposed framework? If possible, draw a figure of the framework that connects the theory to your study by drawing connections between the variables to the sample, tools, and projected findings. Your framework should show how you are using the quantitative and qualitative techniques and how they will merge to carry out the study. Sample Design Carefully separate the two types of studies as distinct phases so the requirements and specific methods can be explained, e.g., the sampling methods for the quantitative part of the study and qualitative parts of the study. Describe each sample using the demographics used for the selection of the study sample and the number in each category. For example, you may wish to present the quantitative sample using a table that shows the number of participants and the demographic data (like age, gender, nationality, socioeconomic status etcetera) used for the selection together with the quantitative tool selected (such as a survey or questionnaire). For the qualitative sample, describe the number of participants, the method of selection, and the demographics used to select the participants. Draw a table for the sample selection to provide a clear and concise description of the sample and the reason for their selection. Data Collection Tools For the mixed-method study, the tools will be both qualitative and quantitative. Therefore, a clear description of both tools is necessary. For a quantitative tool like the questionnaire, for example, a clear description of the various sections of the questionnaire will be useful. It will be logical to defend the questionnaire categories by connecting them to the study’s objective and research questions. Provide a set of categories that will be included in the questionnaire. For the interview (or any other qualitative method such as observations, audio/video recordings etcetera), describe the type of questions that will be asked at the interview. This too must be tied to the objective and research questions. Provide an interview schedule for greater clarity and the observation techniques that will accompany the interview.

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Sites and Venues of Research In this section, describe where the tools will be administered. How will the questionnaires, for example, be distributed and collected? Where will the interviews or audio/video tapings be conducted? Is there a particular reason for choosing the venues? Data Analysis Methods In this section, separately describe how the analysis of both the qualitative data and the quantitative data will be analysed. Give a clear idea of the statistical tools that will be used to measure the questions asked in the questionnaire; what variables will be tested; whether they are simple percentages and counts, content analysis; or whether you will be using software tools such as SPSS or ANOVA. Similarly describe and discuss the method of analysis of the qualitative data from interviews, audio/video, or other textual material. Discuss the form of analysis of the visual data as well as the interviews that will probably be transcribed, in a proper format with coding categories that have been chosen from both the theoretical perspective and the research questions. How the thematic analysis will be done after the data have been coded needs to be explained clearly and carefully. Limitations of the Study In this section, it is important to outline the limitations of the study with regard to geography, sample, tools, or any other factor that limits the findings from being generalized to the whole population. The findings from the qualitative part of a mixedmode design cannot be generalized, and this must be mentioned in the limitations, whereas the quantitative findings may (if the sample collected falls within acceptable levels) be generalized. Ethical Considerations It is important to comply with the ethics policies of the country or organizations promoting the research. It usually involves a statement saying that all ethical regulations will be followed and identifies any specific problems which might occur and what the researcher would do if these did occur. Participants of the research should be briefed about the research aims and objectives and assured of anonymity. A consent form should be signed by participants who take part in interviews and are recorded in some manner. Research Timeline Present the proposed timeline of your research from when you will start your research study to when you propose to finish. Draw a Gantt chart or a table that will show a schedule for completing all of the different parts of the research study. Having a schedule with dates is essential to complete the study on time.

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Conclusion Conclude your research proposal by providing a summary of your proposed plan for your study by including the research aim, theoretical focus, sampling method, data collection tools and the method of analysis, and anticipated contributions of the study. List of References At the end of the proposal, a list of references should be provided using a common method such as APA or other approved styles such as the Harvard and MLA. Consistency is necessary so that whatever style is chosen should be followed scrupulously throughout. All references used in literature review, the introduction and problem statement, data analysis, and all through the proposal should be listed.

Conclusions The mix of a qualitative and quantitative approach to conducting a study is called a mixed-method study. This chapter explains what mixed-method research is by providing a definition and outlines when and how to use it. A research proposal is an important document that outlines a plan for a research study. It should contain pertinent and sufficient information for the application of grants, scholarships, these proposals, and other scientific studies to be examined and approved by a panel of examiners. This chapter provides a guide on how to write a research proposal for a mixed-method study.

References Bulsara, C. (2014). Using A Mixed Methods Approach To Enhance And Validate Your Research. Notre Dame University. https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant& ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=dr%20caroline%20bulsara%20mixed%20methods Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (2nd ed.). Sage. Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage.

Part VI

Data Collection Instrument Development, Fieldwork and Research Ethics

Chapter 32

Preparation and Development of Data Collection Instruments for Social Research M. Rezaul Islam

Abstract The objective of this chapter is to give a clear idea to the research students on the preparation and development of data collection instruments for conducting social research. There are numerous debates about the types of data collection instruments in social research. I have written off all of these instruments into main three categories, such as interview schedule, guideline, and checklist. First, this chapter provides the general rules for the preparation and development of these instruments and then describes the preparatory stages. Secondly, it provides a template of each type of instrument. Keywords Social research. · Data collection. · Data collection preparation. · Data collection instruments

Introduction The preparation and development of data collection instruments are one of the main phases of the social research process. It is said that the quality of research findings in the light of research objectives and research questions fully depends on the proper preparation and development of data collection instruments. The data collection instruments are synonymized by different names such as questionnaires and data collection tools. Social research is a highly sensitive idea/project, which annals the human perception/opinions on a particular area of human life. In general, data collection is the process of gathering information on specific variables in a recognized organized manner that aids one to respond to pertinent queries according to the objective and research question of a particular study. However, this is crucial how we are preparing and developing our data collection instruments. Here, data collection instruments are the main tools for data collection. However, the mental and physical M. R. Islam (B) Institute of Social Welfare and Research, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] Centre for Family and Child Studies, Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_32

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preparation and alerts are preconditions for good and well-organized data collection instruments. It is remarkably observed that many research students or even professional researchers are not very serious during the preparation and development of data collection instruments. This phase is very important because the quality of data generally depends on the quality of data collection instruments. Therefore, in every PhD research project, a few months are allocated for developing these data collection instruments. The type and number of questions, size and nature of questions, the language, time, and data management, all completely depend on the veracious preparation of data collection instruments. In quantitative research such as laboratorybased research, medical research or any research that involves life risk is important to take sufficient preparation in developing a questionnaire. Such research also has a high financial involvement. Qualitative research, such as corruption, mental health, human rights, trafficking, abusing or even service evaluation, needs more careful preparation for the development of data collection instruments.

Rules for Preparation and Development of Data Collection Instruments There is no specific rule or template to prepare data collection instruments. The sorts of rules and preparation required mostly depend on the particular data collection method, particular data collection tool, and research objective. The field setting is also important. The number of data collection instruments, size and types of questions, length of data collection, and the procedure are significant considerations. Here, the students need to be careful to verify whether sufficient opportunities are prevailing in the data collection instruments that can fulfil the research objective. In some studies, there should have a ‘prove’ option in the instruments so that the data collectors can prove the facts through observing in the field. In many cases, the researchers need some contextual information, such as community setting and ecological settings, or they may need some more detailed information on a particular case. However, the students should provide sufficient options in the data collection instruments so that they can collect information according to their research objectives. In some cases, there may have physical or emotional harm or the matter of confidentiality from both sides (researchers and respondents), which should be minimized. However, the data collection instruments should have such kind of option for this minimization. In some cases, there are a lot of challenges and limitations in both commune and procedural levels in qualitative research (Islam et al., 2014; Islam, Siti Hajar and Wahab 2013). In this case, the researchers face tremendous challenges to conduct their studies. This is particularly true in the countries like Bangladesh, where the researchers may face some challenges that are related to their mental and physical harm. As a result, they may face contradiction in using ethical guideline that is related to the reliability and validity issue. This may happen during conduction

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of focus group discussion (FGDs) in a particular community, where the research objectives sometimes may go against the particular group of respondents who are involved or who have support to a particular political party. For example, the role of Islamic NGOs/Islamic faith-based NGOs towards human development or even any NGO which is identified as the opponent of the current government may observe a similar threat from the particular group of participants. However, this is alarming for the researchers to be aware of this kind of matter during the preparation of data collection instruments. Levinson et al. (1999) mentioned eight significant aspects that should be considered to prepare data collection instrument, e.g., (i) draft the content of the instrument based on pre-determined information needs, (ii) pay attention to language, (iii) craft questions carefully, (iv) optimize the sequence of the questions, (v) make the format easy to follow, (vi) check for consistency between instruments, (vii) pre-test the instrument, and (viii) revise the instrument. Though I would argue that this is difficult to follow the particular format or prescription from the literature about the particular rules during the preparation and development of data collection instruments. This absolute depends on the particular piece of research, its objectives, nature and types of data, time, location, the community settings where the research will be conducted, researchers’ experiences and quality, and use of data. Even there is no clear-cut statement about the total time for an interview or the number of questions. In many cases, some interviews can run one hour and some can be several hours. It also depends on the type and nature of data collection instruments. An in-depth case study even can continue for several days or months according to the phase/objective of the research. The most important is to prepare the data collection instruments in such a way so that a PhD students can: • • • • • •

Manage his/her research within his/her schedule. Utilize the research opportunities sufficiently within the time frame. Afford the research. Collect data sufficiently according to the research objective. Tackle the challenges and limitations in the field. Communicate with the respondents easily according to their level of education and understanding. • Collect data according to the satisfaction of the participants, etc. To consider the above discussion, I have provided some general rules (Box 32.1) to prepare data collection instruments that are generally applicable to all types of research and data collection procedures.

Box 32.1: General rules for data collection instruments • Include all questions and aspects in the light of research objectives and research questions • Maintain the sequence of the questions in the instruments

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• Make the language of the instruments easy, short, understandable, simple, specific, and self-explanatory • Prepare the instruments in the local language • Consider the language ability and knowledge of the respondents • Put the ‘probe’, if it is needed • Careful about the age, education, and cultural aspects of the respondents • Prepare the questions especially for the interview schedule such a way that creates an opportunity to build up a rapport between researcher(s) and respondent(s) • Do not ask any questions in the instruments that can upset/hurt the respondent(s) • Try to avoid the sensitive questions if it is not needed to avoid possible harm/conflict such as political issue or matter of confidentiality between researcher(s) and respondent(s) • Try to put all basic information such as date and time and identity such as age, group, education, etc., in the instruments • Instruments should be manageable in terms of time, cost, and standard/quality.

Stages/Phases of Data Collection Instruments In research, the stages/phases of the preparation and development of data collection instruments are very critical. Most of the social research consults human perceptions, human behaviour, culture, human practice, and their norms and values. From individual, group, and community perspectives, many issues are human sensitive. Many aspects are related to their sensitivity, choice, privacy, and confidence. Therefore, the instruments should have some assurance to consider all these issues properly. As a result, the asking information and question should be arranged or organized in such a way that the participants/respondents feel relaxed, confident, and reliable to express their opinions. Otherwise, they may hide some sensitive issues or overlook those issues intentionally, which would be questions of the reliability and validity of data. This is very important that the asking questions will be written or told in such a way that creates more confidence among the participants when the asking questions or discussion will progress. Some questions or aspects which can be asked later that should not be asked earlier or some issues which can attract a particular individual’s current or past status should not be asked in such a way that can interrupt to conduct data collection activity. In some cases, the researchers should not take some information about the respondents such as their name or even some information such as ‘age’. Here, the participants do not want to recognize themselves or they may feel that this information might be the cause of their harm and threat. However,

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1. Identification pahse

2. Demographic ans socioeconomic data phase

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Fig. 32.1 Stages/Phases. Source Developed by author

in these cases, the researchers should not write respondents’ ‘names’ or sometimes they should not ask their age. In general, a data collection instrument such as schedule, guideline, or checklist should be three stages/phases such as identification phase, demographic and socioeconomic data phases, and objective phase (Fig. 32.1). • • • • • • • •

Identification phase: This phase includes the following aspects: Title of the study. Clarification of research objective. Funding and operational organizations. Use of data, and privacy and confidentiality. Date, time, and duration of data collection. Respondents’ basic information such as name and age (if required). Demographic and socioeconomic data phases: This phase includes all basic information about the respondents’ demographic information such as participant’s age, number of family members and their age, relationship with the respondents, and marital status and the socioeconomic information such as occupation, income, expenditure, resources and properties, education, ethnicity, religion, geographical location of residence, housing, health and sanitation, institutional involvement and membership, recreation and culture, and social gathering. This is noted that what kinds of information would be needed for a particular qualitative study fully depends on the aspect/area/objective of the research. Nevertheless, in general, every research should take some demographic and socioeconomic information. Some researches that are more related to the demographic status need more demographic information. Some researches such as poverty, nutrition, and health need more information on socioeconomic information. • Objective phase: This is a very important phase of data collection instruments. This phase can be divided into two, three, or more sub-sections. The number of sub-sections will purely depend on the number of research objectives and variables. In general, a researcher considers the number of this sub-section according to the number of research objectives in the light of the selected variables. The

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length and content of the questions also depend on the type and nature of the answers the researcher is required. The following sub-section clarifies these phases.

Types and Templates of Data Collection Instruments There is a wide range of criticism and debate about the types, natures, and templates of the data collection instruments. In general, no universally accepted template should be followed in all studies. Again, it depends on the particular piece of research, type and nature, research objective, types of data required, and time and context of the research. Even there is a certain level of confusion and debate about the types of data collection instruments against the nature and type of research, and data collection methods. In this section, I will introduce some templates of data instruments that a PhD student should follow. In general, three types of data collection instruments are used in the research: • Interview schedule. • Guideline. • Checklist. Table 32.1 presents the types of data collection instruments against the nature and types of research and data collection methods. Table 32.1 Data collection instruments, nature and types of research, and types of methods Types of data collection Research approach Types of research instruments

Types of methods

Interview schedule

Quantitative Qualitative Mixed method

Social survey Case study

Interview In-depth case study

Guideline

Qualitative

Case study

Focus group discussions (FGDs) Key informant interviews (KIIs)

Checklist

Quantitative Qualitative

Social survey Case study Ethnographic Documentation survey

Observation Community mapping Discourse analysis (DA) Documentation survey

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Interview Schedule A schedule or interview schedule is the most important, popular, and widely used data collection instrument. This is used in both qualitative and quantitative research and mixed-method in social survey and case study research. A schedule is a set of questions with structured answers to guide a researcher. It is a plan or guideline for investigation. The schedule is a list of queries that are required to examine the hypothesis/research objective. Simply, a schedule is a set of questions verbalized and offered with a specific determination for testing an assumption/hypothesis/objective. Usually, a research interview involves a steered dialogue between two people—the researcher and the participant. Interviews may be conducted face-to-face as when two people are sitting together having a conversation guided by the interview schedule, or they may be conducted over the telephone. An interview can be closed-ended with structured questionnaires or open-ended with unstructured questionnaires. Many interview schedules can be with a semi-structured questionnaire. This is important to be careful that there is an opportunity to use the ‘observation’ method in the face-to-face interview. However, if there is anything that needs to get ‘proven’ should have an opportunity or keep an option in the interview schedule to do this. Here are examples of structured and semi-structured interview schedules.

Structured Interview Schedule The structured schedule is used in social research where all answers to the required questions are given. Usually, this kind of instrument is used when the answers are known or discovered but needs to put ‘tick’ which is the level/category of the answer. The Likert Scale is mostly popular in the structured interview schedule. Here are three examples of the Likert Scales (Figs. 32.2, 32.3 and 32.4).

Semi-Structured Interview Schedule The semi-structured interview schedule is one of the popular data collection instruments in the qualitative research method. When a researcher wants to know some opinions in a short format such as what, when, how, and why. This is often used when the answers are not quite sure or there are some options of the answer, but difficult to limit it in a scale such as Likert Scales. In some cases, a researcher needs some bit detailed answer to a particular question. Here is an example of a semi-structured interview schedule. We assume that the main objective of this study is to explore the

456 Fig. 32.2 Likert scale: Form 1 Source Developed by author

Fig. 32.3 Likert scale: Form 2 Source Developed by author

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Fig. 32.4 Likert scale: Form 3 Source Developed by author

daily activities the street children in Dhaka city are doing and what sorts of challenges they face in the street. Here are two main questions and some sub-questions for an example (Box 32.2).

Box 32.2: Interview Schedule Main Question: What does street children do in his/her daily activities? Sub-questions: • • • • • • • • •

What time do you get up early in the morning? What do you do in the morning time? What do you do in the noontime? What do you do in the afternoon time? What do you do in the evening and at night-time? Do you eat three times daily? What do you eat at your breakfast, lunch, and dinner and who pay the bills? Give a list of your daily activities (usually you do)? Do you do any work and what are those? If you work, how much amount do you earn every day? • Do you have any friends and who are they? • Do you have any relatives in this city and do you visit them? • Do you get any help from them and what types of this help?

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• How do you get your recreation? Give bit detail • How do you collect or buy your dress? Main Question: Do you face any kind of challenge in the street? Sub-questions: • • • • • • • • • •

Do you get your all necessities as you required? If not why? Do you face any physical harassment by anybody? What are those? Do you face any psychological problems and what are those? Do you face any sexual abuse? If yes, tell me more about this? (nature, types, and trend) Do you face any other types of discrimination and abuse? What are those? Do you get any kind of police harassment and what type of harassment? Have you been forcedly evicted from your living place? How many times and what did you do at that time? Do you get any help/assistance from the government, NGO or communitybased organizations, or individuals? What are those? Do you feel insecure about your life such as your education, your health, and your job in future? What do you suggest to improve your lives and livelihoods? Source Prepared by the author

Guideline This is one of the significant data collection instruments that is used to collect data from qualitative data collection methods such as FGDs and KIIs. The nature of the statement of a guideline will be very simple and should be written in assertive sentences, with no question mark. The aspects or contents of this guideline should be arranged/organized in such a way, where a researcher can maintain the sequence of the information as required in his/her research objectives. This is important that the nature of this checklist depends on the particular respondents/group of respondents and the research objective. If this guideline applies to an individual respondent such as KIIs, this should focus/address the individual’s attention properly so that the participant can feel relaxed, comfortable, confident, and free. If the checklist applies to a group of people such as FGDs, the instrument should provide sufficient opportunity to all respondents so that everybody gets an equal chance or opportunity to express their comments/opinions. In qualitative research, we apply this kind of instrument with the verities of respondents such as community people, community leaders, NGO workers, government officials/representatives, practitioners, key persons, management people, and the people based on their occupational status.

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However, the nature of language and type of questions should be according to the status of respondents. Here is an example of FGD guidelines (Box 32.3). The main objective of this guideline is to explore some expert-level opinions from the members of civil society, NGO workers, human rights workers, policymakers, development practitioners, and journalists who work in relevant fields.

Box 32.3: FGD guidelines (Community leaders) 1. General perceptions about street children in Dhaka city 2. Principal causes to be a street children 3. Your experiences that the problems, challenges, and discriminations the street children face? 4. Legal protection and available services for street children in Bangladesh 5. Your suggestions to reduce the number of street children in Dhaka city Source Prepared by the author

Checklist The checklist as a data collection instrument is used in both quantitative and qualitative research and the research methods such as social survey, case study, and ethnographic and documentation survey methods. This instrument is usually used in qualitative data collection techniques such as observation, community mapping, and discourse analysis (DA). The format of this instrument is similar to the structured questionnaire. Here, all of the possible options are mentioned, and the researchers just put ‘tick’ on the applicable possible options. Sometimes, some information may be left as black and the researchers just insert the right number or answer. This instrument is frequently used in observation methods, community mapping, and documentation surveys in library research. The nature of the format of such an instrument is simpler than the schedule. This would be very short and specific. Here is an example of a checklist for observation techniques (Box 32.4). This checklist includes some queries that are possible to observe of street children. This checklist is a part of the semi-structured interview method, and information was checked and recorded during the interview period. The interviewer/observer recorded the situation of a street child during the interview period.

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Box 32.4: Observation checklist Name of Observer……………………. Date:………… Start…………………… Time Finish………………. Time Taken………………………

Time

1. Physical/health condition of the street child: Very good  Good  Average  Bad  Very bad  2. Mental/psychological/emotional expression: Very good  Good  Average  Bad  Very bad  3. Clothing conditions: Very good  Good  Average  Bad  Very bad 4. Any sign about physical torture/abuse: Yes  No  5. Type of work s/he is doing during the interview: ……………………………… Source Prepared by the author Here is an example of a checklist that is used in community mapping. Sabur (2013) used this checklist to know the sanitation system in a community in Bangladesh (Fig. 32.5). Here, the researcher sketched a community map in a particular community, where the research was conducted and recorded all major information related to sanitation such as a house, hillock, road, tube well, pond, mosque, madrasa, well, and temple. It is important that which type of information and data the researchers will record depends on the research objective.

Fig. 32.5 Community mapping Source Sabur (2013)

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Conclusion Preparation to develop data collection instruments is a core task of a PhD student. The quality and efficiency of research exclusively depend on this important phase. This is suggested that a student will give sufficient and fruitful time to prepare and develop the required data collection instruments. Three important considerations are crucial to prepare and develop effective and useful data collection instruments, e.g., to look at the principal concepts used in the study, to look at the research objectives and research questions, and to justify the applicability of the main theories/approaches used in the research. A PhD students always look at whether all of these aspects are inclusively included in the data collection instruments. This is important that due to time constraints, financial shortages, and lack of availability of environmental convenience, it may not possible to rearrange the data collection further if it ends. However, a student should take the necessary initiative during the preparation and development of data collection instruments.

References Islam, M. R., Cojocaru, S., Siti Hajar, A. B., S., Haris, A. W., & Sabri, S. (2014). Commune and procedural level challenges and limitations in conducting social research in Malaysia: A case of disabled people. Revista De Cercetare Si Interventie Sociala, 46, 255–272. Islam, M. R., Siti Hajar A. B., A., & Haris, A. (2013). Local knowledge in the lips of globalization: Uncertainty of community participation in NGO activities. Revista De Cercetare Si Interventie Sociala, 43, 7–23. Levinson, F. J., Hicks, K. M., Rogers, B. L., Schaetzel, T., Troy, L. M., & Young, C. (1999). Monitoring and evaluation: A guidebook for nutrition project managers in developing countries. World Bank. Sabur, M. A. (2013). Better sanitation, with communities taking the lead. Community Eye Health, 26(82), 28.

Chapter 33

Fieldwork for Data Collection: Preparation and Challenges Md. Abul Hossen

Abstract Field research is an important aspect of any empirical social study. Field research can be challenging, exciting as well as rewarding and daunting too. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the meaning and importance of field research and to provide a basic understanding to the new researcher who wants to conduct field research about the process of field research. While the chapter highlight the common field research practices, it will also discuss the potential tensions, dilemmas and challenges that may encounter during field research and the possible strategies needed to address them. This chapter argues that researcher should be sensitive and careful regarding reflexivity, positionality, and the relations of power during field research in order to conduct an emancipatory, democratic, and culturally sensitive field research. Such activity includes greater attention to the openness about the purpose of the research and activities undertaken, self-disclosure, mutual sharing of information, and explicit recognition of the expertise of the participant that they gained through lived experiences. Keywords Social research · Field research · Field preparation · Data collection · Field-level challenges · Local context

Introduction Field research is one of the most challenging parts of social research that offer new insights into the phenomena under study. Field research demands constant negotiation among interest, situations, and logistics (Scott et al., 2005). Field research as a part of social science research brings the researcher closest to the research participants and the community under study. It is a dynamic process where exchange and interaction occurred between and among the different actors involved in the research process. Field research is the process of observing and collecting data about people, cultures,

Md. Abul Hossen (B) Department of Social Work, Jagannath University, Dhaka 1100, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_33

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and natural environments. It also provides an opportunity to examine and understand the way scientific theories interact with real life.

Field Research: Conceptual Underpinning In general terms, field research is defined as “field research is the study of people acting the natural courses of their daily lives. The fieldworker ventures into the worlds of others to learn first hand about how they live, how they talk and behave, and what captivates and distressed them…. It is also seen as a method of study whose practitioners try to understand the meanings that activities observed have for those engaging in them” (Emerson, 2001:1). Schatzman and Strauss (1973:14) explained, “field method is more like an umbrella of activity beneath which any technique may be used for gaining the desired knowledge, and for processes of thinking about this information”. More explicitly, field research is characterized by its location and by how it is conducted. Concerning location, field research is carried out in natural settings; for example, anthropologists spend extended time with distinct communities or social workers trying to understand the daily life of people living in the shelter homes.

A Brief History of Field Research British social anthropologist BronislawMalinoski (1844–1942) was the first researcher to live with a group of people for a long time and provide a detailed picture about his data collection process whereby he explained the pain and pleasure of field research. Malinoski suggested that “social researchers should directly interact with and live among the native peoples and learn their customs, beliefs, and social processes” (Neuman, 2001: 380). Contemporary sociological field research has its origins in the social reform movement of the turn of the twentieth century, in which the description of the life and conditions of the urban poor was viewed as paving the way for change and improvement. The reform movement found its strongest academic expression in the Chicago School in early 1920. In the second phase, from the 1940s to the 1960s, the Chicago school developed participant observation as a distinct technique. It expanded an anthropological model to groups and settings in the researcher’s society. They tried to study people in their natural habitat by directly interacting with the community and getting a sense of the complex situation and makinga theoretical statement.

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Preparation for the Field All research begins with a “hunch” that the researcher has. It is expected that the researcher is supposed to have an initial idea about the issue that is under study. The researcher should not go into the field as a “blank slate”. If the researcher went to the field without minimum knowledge about the community, culture, and people, he will face difficulty how to start, what to talk to, whom to talk to, and how to talk even how to start the initial research process. In absence of an initial understanding, the field research might be ended up with a pleasure trip. Hence, the researcher must visit the field having read up on the works of other researchers or newspaper articles or information from any other source so that the researcher get an initial idea about the nature of the field, the complexities, the threats, and the opportunities that might have in the field. Wax and Wax (1980) in their article on ‘Fieldwork and the Research Process’ underscore the need for studying the scholarly articles and available literature to learn the complex issue that is under investigation before entering into the field, which they call as a ‘mark of respect for the respondents’. John Davis in “Fieldwork” (Davis, 1984) also suggests the researcher to gather useful and valuable information about the debate in their respective field prior to entering in the field.

Steps in Field Research Field research is considered as a focal point or backbone of any research. So to undertake meaningful fieldwork, proper strategy and careful planning is very crucial. So the researcher would make a road map regarding every step of field research. In this regard, some tips may be helpful: • Prepare oneself psychologically and mentally, study the works of other researchers and scientific journals to get an initial understanding, and defocus. • Select a study site that is comparatively easy to gain access. • Enter the field, connect, and interact with local people, establish social relations with them. • Watch, hear, listen, and try to collect rich and thick data. • Start interviewing the participants. • Take a break and think about what is going on. • Disengage and physically leave the setting. • Give final thought on data gathered and analyse them carefully, have a member check, and write a report.

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Methods of Data Collection The most commonly used method of collecting data is the interview, observation, and focus group discussion. In the interview, method participants are asked questions, basically open-ended, and the responses are recorded by the interviewer in a face to face situation. On the other hand in the observation methods, the researcher observes the social phenomena in natural settings, and in focus group discussion, the participants are brought together in groups, and the interviewer, while using a general discussion guide, elicits detailed information through probes.

Issues and Challenges of Field Research Familiarizing Yourself with the Literature Before getting involved directly in the field, one should prepare himself by reviewing the relevant literature that will assist him in deciding what to look for while in the field. Such preparation plays an important role in enabling him to appreciate in a more meaningful way whatever he may observe in the field. However, there is a danger of over familiarizing oneself ahead of time.

Selecting Site for Data Collection To go for fieldwork first things, you need to identify the setting or population of interest. Before selecting a research site you might need to think about the three factors such as whether the site is easy to enter, the probability of getting cooperation from the community and the risk associated with the process. Although this ideal is seldom attained, you should describe what makes the selections of this particular site especially sound. Sometimes, a site might look interesting initially considering its richness, diversity, and the research objectives you intend to gain but if you cannot get entry into it, it would be ended up as a futile exercise. So you have to be careful and smart enough to select a study site.

Gaining Entry into the Field The next concern is to gain direct entry into the setting. The situation is much more demanding than it may seem. Examples vary from one extreme to the other—while in some cases, researchers are welcomed warmly by the members of the group to be studied, and in other cases, either they are not allowed to enter the field at all or

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are thrown out after they have been in the field for quite some time. As Marshall and Rossman (2006:110) suggested, “you need to discuss steps taken to gain entry into the setting and to secure permissions to study the participants or situation. A probable gatekeeper may be a thug on the corner, an administrator of a hospital, or the owner of the business, formal or informal leaders, and pimp in the brothels”.

Establishing Rapport The researcher needs to establish a proper rapport with the participants. This is a way to gain an understanding of participants and their complex situations. This will open up a window to seeing, feeling, and observing events from different perspectives. If the researcher can gain the participant and community complete trust, they are likely to be less formal and more cooperative, and hence, the data will be of higher quality. Otherwise, he may end up collecting information much of which may not be of any real use.

Strategies to Address the Challenges Mutual sharing, reflexivity, relationship building, flexibility, and maintaining dialogical relation is a key to minimizing the concerns that might arise during the field research process (Wahab, 2003). The researcher needs to undertake several steps to deal with the issue:

Negotiating Power Power is a central aspects of any field research, and it is very important to neutralize power differential to get true data (Lal, 1996). Notions of research being subjective and value-free have been radically challenged by feminist theorists (Haraway, 1991;Harding, 1991; Hartstock, 1987). The feminist always critical about the hierarchical relations of power between researcher and participants and seek to eliminate hierarchies in knowledge production process. Qualitative researchers committed to build good mutual relations with their research participants in order to get authentic data and to democratize the research process. The researcher needs to be aware about the power relations during different stages of the research process such as data collection, analysis, and publishing and be strategic to resolve this dilemma and tension to foster an egalitarian relationship with the participants.

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Tacit Acknowledgement and Recognize Their Experiences and Expertise Recognition of peoples experience and expertise is very important to conduct emancipatory research. You can start your interview by saying ‘you are the expert in what we are going to talk about. Therefore, as much as it is with your capabilities, I would like you to use your expertise and knowledge in providing answers to the questions that will be posted to you’. You need to constantly remind participants that there are no right or wrong answers and that their responses are a reflection of their unique experiences. This statement aimed to achieve two things: First, it serves to reaffirm their sense of worth and respect for the knowledge they possess. Secondly, it is a way of saying the power is in your hand to drive the affairs of the encounter and also to boost up their morale that they know lots of things to offer in the scientific world.

Encourage Participants to Ask Questions Phoenix (1994:63) has mentioned that “another way to develop rapport and balancing power in the interview situation is to encourage participants to ask questions and provide them as much information as possible about the intended project and their nature of cooperation”. These techniques are very helpful in that it reduces any mystery that surrounds the researcher. By encouraging personal questions and providing an honest answer to the participant’s questions it is possible to make a friendly relation with participants and this way we can avoid the tension that might have in participants minds. It can also help to build trust with the participants which ultimately encourage participants to provide a truthful answer to research questions.

The Dichotomy of Insider and Outsider One of the issues that come across the literature is that of representation of researchers own positionality. Positionality is defined as a researcher’s insider or outsiders status vis-à-vis the research and research site in which the research take place. It is also about one’s social position, power, status in the form of knowledge and resources (Herr & Anderson, 2006). Herr and Anderson (2006) advance this point that researchers assume multiple positionalities at different points of the study. Clarity about the position of the researcher about the research is important because it defines the researcher’s epistemological, methodological, ethical direction and has implications for validity claims and research ethics (Herr & Anderson, 2006).Hence the researcher needs to accept that the relations between researcher and participants are hierarchical. At the same time, researchers need to recognize, understand, and manage his/her role as a researcher and take responsibility for their work (Kobayashi, 1994).

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Strengths of Field Research The prime strength of field research is that it provides detailed, rich, and fresh data about the people, situation, and a process that a researcher is interested to know. Other techniques or methods of data collection such as experiments and surveys cannot provide us with that much information that we get from field research. It is the field research whereby a researcher spends extended periods with the respondent’s community as a result, the researcher gets a sense of the surroundings and can unearth many sociocultural complexities and facts that are very much essential to understand the settings and situations.

Ethical Considerations Research does involve collecting data from people, about people (Punch, 2005). Social research involved human subjects so it is very important to think about the welfare of research participants in every possible way. The researcher should always be careful about the right of the participants and protect them from any harm that might emanate from the research process. As Isreal and Hay (2006) underscore the importance to develop the trust with the participants and to show respect, the rights, privacy, needs and privilege of the participants to foster a democratic relationship so that the human rights of the participants can be protected and maintained. The researcher should inform the participants about anonymity. The respondents have every right to know about the research, research process, their nature of involvement, the withdrawal procedures, and the intended benefit yield from the research.

Conclusions The most exciting and rewarding part of social research is field research. It is also a dynamic process that involves the constant negotiation of complex relations, interests, situations, and logistics. Since each field is different itis difficult to provide a precise set of rules and procedures for conducting field research. What a field researcher does depend on the situation, the purpose of the study, the nature of the setting, and the skills, interests, needs, and point of view of the field researcher. To gain maximum benefit from field research, it is essential to have a plan, establish trust, and maintain a respectful relationship with communities and participants. Finally, it should be noted that field research is an adventurous journey for the researcher and it demands very careful and systematic planning. At the same time, it should also remember that it would never be a rigid process rather researcher should be flexible, make constant adjustments to conduct democratic, emancipatory, and culturally sensitive field research.

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References Davis, R. (1984). The fole of the Gorontological Nurse in the case of Elderly. Socioeconomic Planning, 19(4), 279–288. Emerson, R. (2001). Contemporary field research: Perspective and Formulations. Waveland Pr. Inc. Haraway, D. (1991).Siminascybrogs and women: The reinvention of nature. Routledge. Harding, S. (1991). Whose science? Whose knowledge? Cornell University Press. Hartsock, N. (1987). The feminist standpoint:Developing the ground for a specifically feminist historical Materialism. In Harding S(Ed.), Feminism and methodology (p.157–180). University of Indiana Press. Herr, K., & Anderson, G. L. (2006). The action research dissertation: A guide for students and faculty. Sage Publications. Israel, M., & Lain, H. (2006). Reseach ethics for social scientists: between ethical conduct and regulatory compliance. Sage. Kobayashi, A. (1994). Coloring the field: Gender, race and the politics of fieldwork. The Professional Geographer, 46, 73–79. Kosygina, L. (2005). Doing gender in research: Reflection on experience in field. The Qualitative Report, 10(1), 87–95. Lal, J. (1996). Situating locations: The politics of self, identity and other in living and writing the texts. In D. Wolfs (Ed.), Feminist diallemmas in fieldwork (pp. 185–214). Westview Press. Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. (2006). Designing qualitative research. Sage. Neuman, B. (2001). The knowledge gap: Implications for early education. University of Michigan Press. Phoenix, A. (1994). Practising feminist research: The intersection of gender and ‘race’ in the research process. In M. Maynard & J. Purvis (Eds.), Researching women’s lives from a feminist perspective (pp. 49–71). Taylor and Francis limited. Punch, K. F. (2005). Introduction to social research: Quantitative and qualitative approaches. London: Sage Schatzman and Strauss. (1973). Development field work: A practical guide (p. 170). Sage. Scott, S., Miller, F., & Lloyd, K. (2005). Doing fieldwork in development geography: Researh culture and research spaces in Vietnam. Geographical Research, 44(1), 28–40. Wahab, S. (2003). Creating knowledge collaboratively with female sex workers: Insights from a qualitative, feminist and participatory study. Qualitative Inquiry, 9, 625–642. Wax, M., & Wax, R. (1980). Fieldwork and the research process. John Wiley & Sons.

Chapter 34

Ethics and Empirics: Essence of Ethics in Social Research A. K. M. Ahsan Ullah

Abstract Over the last one and a half decades, some fundamental changes have occurred in social research, and the renewed emphasis on ensuring ethical standards at every step of the research process constitutes one of such changes. The purpose of the discussion here is to shed light on the fundamental steps and issues concerning research ethics—as commonly encountered, especially by early career researchers and research students—and highlight the fact that ethics constitutes an essential element in maintaining the quality of research. The chapter focuses on the primary stages, methodology, and procedures of ethical protections that the modern social research institution has established to protect study participants’ rights and privacy. Keeping the participant anonymous throughout the research process is one of the fundamental principles of research ethics. Another important ethical consideration concerns the hierarchies between researchers and participants (respondents); one implication is that research participants may not be coerced into participating in research anymore. They have the liberty to withdraw from the study at any time. Depending on the level of (physical, psychological, political, and financial) sensitivity, the matter of ethical approval for a particular research project has to go through various levels of the ethical screening process. Keyword Ethics · Social research · Institutional review board · Sensitivity · Confidentiality

Introduction Without research, society would not have progressed as much as it has today. There is no doubt that positive changes in policies and goals for human improvement have resulted from research. As a result, a sound and ethically verified technique should serve as the foundation for any research (American Psychological Association, 2002; Resnik, 2015; Ullah et al., 2020). A decade ago, a hierarchy was maintained between A. K. M. Ahsan Ullah (B) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Brunei Darussalam, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_34

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the researchers and the researched, implying that the researchers are on top and the researched at the bottom. Thus, the researchers are placed in a position to feel obliged to furnish information. As the ethical standard is set, this trend is supposed to decline. The risks and vulnerabilities that respondents/researched face should be considered with care (Angell et al., 2006; Sales & Folkman, 2000; Ullah & Huque, 2014). This means a significant shift has taken place about ethical concerns in research from the previous decade. In the pre-ethics age as if, whatever questions the questionnaires had could be asked of the respondents. Privacy, the risk of injury, vulnerability to abuse, and the implications of these factors were not significant. The practice has been in most cases like respondents are coerced or made obliged to provide data, and they cannot withdraw from being interviewed as they start. The reality is that the researchers or respondents do not benefit from the research they are involved in. Instead, the researchers reap an immediate benefit in reputation, upward mobility in professional careers, and enhanced incomes. Of course, the results of the data benefit society, the nation, and humanity as a whole. Nonetheless, they have been labelled as obligated to supply information regardless of how destructive or unsafe it may be for them. This is unethical by any reckoning. The relationship between researcher and research is important in methodology. Understandably, the researchers have been enjoying a privileged position over the research. The inherent power imbalance between the researcher and researcher are frequently discussed, but the problem is that the discussion is directed from the researchers’ point of view (Råheim et al., 2016). However, some counter-arguments defining what information counts in a specific researcher–researched interaction is not the researcher’s entire responsibility because participants may bring their own goal to the study scenario (Karnieli-Miller et al., 2009). Of course, this is not the case for most research fields in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Asymmetric relations between researcher and researched yield worse results than expected from data collected from the area (Burns et al., 2012; Lalor et al., 2006; Malacrida, 2007). The emergence of research ethics began to protect human and animal subjects involved in any research in whatever way it takes. The first attempt to craft regulations began during the Doctors Trial of 1946–1947, a segment of the Nuremberg Trials for Nazi war criminals (University of Minnesota, 2003). In reaction to abuses during medical experimentation on humans, the first contemporary code guiding research ethics was formed during the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war crimes (Levine, 2009). “In the Doctors Trial, 23 German Nazi physicians were accused of torturing and abusing concentration camp inmates in grotesque and horrific “experiments”. Thousands of victims were tortured, brutalized, crippled, and murdered in the name of research by the accused doctors. Some of their experiments entailed exposing patients to severe temperatures and altitudes to gain scientific data on the human body’s limits (University of Minnesota, 2003: 1)”. A fundamental question I am asked frequently ‘why research needs to be based on ethical standards?’ My answer is simple: we cannot harm human and animal subjects for our study due to ethical failures. The researchers have to stand to guarantee that their research must not harm anything and anyone. If a researcher is asked questions

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about their political opponents and the findings are published in any form, the study could be in danger at some point in time. A researcher, for instance, either deliberately or carelessly, falsified data in a clinical trial may endanger or even kill patients, and a researcher who violates safety regulations may imperil his or her health as well (Resnik, 2015). Research that involves human and animal subjects raise unique and complex ethical, legal, social, and political issues. Hence, a few objectives come to the fore Burkhardt et al. (2014). They go on to argue that because ethical standards are so widespread, it is easy to dismiss them as common sense, and why are there so many ethical disagreements in our culture if morality is just common sense? The primary objective is to protect human and animal participants from any risks and vulnerabilities are emanating from the research they are involved in. The next one is to ensure that research is carried out to benefit individuals and society. The other goal is to assess the ethical soundness of specific research activities. While I concur with Burkhardt et al. (2014), I contend that research ethics shift power from researchers to those who are researched. Why is a power shift in researched–researcher necessary? This chapter expounds on the key of research ethics and the processes involved in ethics application. In doing so, personal experiences as faculty chair of the ethics committee are the primary source as well as an applicant for ethics approval. Some interviews have been incorporated in this chapter as well. Challenges involved in research are primarily the issues of the researchers, and research ethics are related to the interests of research.

Significance of Research Ethics The principles of ethics guide us in doing our research without harming the participants of the study. Ethical guidelines in conducting research are essential to establish the validity of the research. Since the emergence of research ethics, it has become an important component of research methodology. A common review report on submitting a paper for potential publication is whether the research [based on which the paper is written] underwent ethical review. Also, budgets for research grants are released subjected to ethical approval from a respective ethics committee. Resnik (2015) offered a few reasons why ethical norms are important to adhere to in research and justified the reasons by saying that norms promote the aims and integrity of research. These efforts rectify fabrication, falsification, or misrepresentation of research data and thus minimizing errors. Ethical standards encourage trust, accountability, mutual respect, and justice, which are vital to collaborative work. Ethics ensure the accountability of the researchers to the public, which helps to build public support for research. Research projects are more likely to be funded if the quality and integrity of research are ensured through ethical procedures. This is due to the ethics’ bold promises of social responsibility, human rights, and animal care, as well as legal compliance and public health and safety (Dyrbye et al., 2007; Nowak et al., 2006).

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Ethics is a strategy, approach, or viewpoint for determining how to understand difficult situations. For example, when analysing a complex issue like global warming, one can approach the subject from an economic, ecological, political, or ethical standpoint. While an economist looks at the costs and benefits of various global warming measures, an environmental ethicist might look at the ethical values of the issue (Gajjar, 2013: 1). Even though defined ethical guidelines and principles are in place, there are situations when research runs afoul of possible participants’ rights. No set of ethical guidelines can predict every ethical situation. Most organizations have established an ethics committee to assess research or funding applications for ethical implications and determine whether additional steps are required to safeguard the safety and rights of potential participants (Colt & Mulnard, 2006; Stair et al., 2001). This procedure protects both the researchers and the individuals who are being studied from the legal ramifications of failing to address major ethical issues raised by participants (Gajjar, 2013; Ullah & Huque, 2014).

The Ethical Process Indeed, researchers face a range of ethical requirements, and the level of requirements for ethics applications often depends on the rigour and implications of the research and the organizational and national policies as well. In a democratic society, sensitivity is defined differently from that of a society under a dictatorial system. In a country where Shariah law, for instance, is in effect, research on gender issues or lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) may be considered extremely sensitive. Therefore, requirements for putting an application for research to get it approved by an ethical committee could be cumbersome in terms of long wait time. Documents to be appended with the application package as well vary widely. Although most communities have legal standards that govern behaviour, ethical norms are typically less formal than laws. Even though most countries utilize laws to enforce broadly accepted moral norms and that ethical and legal norms use comparable notions, ethics and law are not the same things (Resnik, 2015). To place the application to the IRB, the applicant has to assemble the application documents package, which includes application forms and supporting documents such as PIF, PCF, survey instruments, and recruitment advertisements. Table 34.1 shows the documents that should be submitted to the review panel. Relevant persons before submission should duly sign the forms. Then the IRB would be in a position to assess the level of risk of the application and allocate to a possible review pathway. If revisions are required, the IRB may request them and then approve or disapprove the application after they are satisfied with the revisions. The ethics permission may be granted or denied, and the office contacts the chief investigator/research supervisor. In general, applications are considered under two tracks: The fast track and the full consideration track. Some institutions allow the chair only to consider the applications, which are not too sensitive to approve under a fast track. The rests go through

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Table 34.1 Documents to be submitted to the review panel Materials submitted

IRB considerations

Trial protocol(s) and amendment(s)

The protocol is updated and all All elements are not amendments have been adequately detailed and incorporated carefully justified

Potential problems

Investigator’s brochure

Approved IB

IB lacks the required information. Studies referred to in the protocol not detailed in the brochure

Written and verbal informed consent form(s) and consent form updates

Adherence to respective IRB requirements for the template and any standard language

Failure to follow local IRB consent form template. Use of consent form language that differs substantially from institutional standards

Subject recruitment materials

Provides sufficient detail to inform the potential participant of study requirements, duration, and compensation (for time and transportations)

The recruitment process does not protect the patient’s confidentiality, and/or privacy. Researched/respondents receive unsolicited phone calls!

Written information to be provided to subjects

Must not be coercive. Indicate Problems exist with type size that the materials are related to and ease of use and the tone of a research activity only the language

Available safety information

All of the available information Most often safety reports may regarding studies and sufficient exist that are not incorporated safety data to support the use into the IB of the test article for the expected duration of participant enrolment

Information about payments and compensation to subjects

Compensation should not The process should be clear to create an unfair inducement for the IRB and the study study participation. Timing and participant method of payment should be clear

Investigator’s current curriculum vitae and/ or other evidence of qualifications

Licensure and training are necessary to safely perform all study-related activities. Inclusion of other study team members where special expertise is required

Many clinical procedures are used for screening and monitoring. It should be clear that qualified individuals are being used to interpret this information

Any other documents required Completion of an Lack of investigative training by the IRB/IEC IRB-approved course in human of the IRB members may and animal subjects research delay the study Sources Adapted from Jacobs (2010), Ullah and Huque (2014)

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Approval process

Assempling application documents Sign off by Head of School or Equivalent Chief Investigator and applicantts Risk assessment

Review by ethics review body

Notification of approval or disapproval

Fig. 34.1 Approval process. Source Author

full consideration by the entire ethics committee. It is, of course, difficult to measure the level of sensitivity quantitatively (Fig. 34.1).

Institutional Oversight The Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Independent Ethics Committees (IECs) of respective institutes oversee the research conducted on human or animal participants by particular institutes. The primary goal is to make it easier for human and animal subjects to participate while ensuring that their rights are maintained. IRBs and IECs are in charge of safeguarding the rights and safety of participants (Fitzgerald & Phillips, 2006; Gunsalus et al., 2007; Jacobs, 2010). All institutes are expected to respect the highest ethical standards in research while allowing their academics, staff, and students to perform research efficiently (American University, 2016; Fitzgerald & Phillips, 2006). The IRB’s primary role should be to help researchers achieve these goals by examining, approving, suggesting changes, if necessary, in research protocols. The detailed elements of the approval procedure are presented in Fig. 34.2. The IRB process is generally based on rules and regulations of the policies of the respective country. Some institutions need their own IRB to review every research, while others rely entirely on a central IRB for particular types of studies. At least five members of the IRB should represent from diverse backgrounds (i.e., professional skills and interests, including both sexes, with at least one member who is not directly linked with the university). While the minimum number of members is five, some IRBs include more to accommodate additional expertise (Jacobs, 2010).

34 Ethics and Empirics: Essence of Ethics in Social Research

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Fig. 34.2 Elements of ethics application. Source Author

Consent form

Application form

Anonymity confidentiality statement statement

Statement of who has access to the information Proposal

Remuneration statement

Statement on how to preserve data

Advettisement for recruitm ent

Question naire/che cklist

Statement of implication of the research

Although codes and policies are important, like any set of rules, they do not cover the range of situations; they frequently necessitate a great deal of interpretation. As a result, researchers must understand how to interpret, evaluate, and apply a variety of research standards, as well as how to act ethically in a variety of scenarios (Resnik, 2015; Ullah & Huque, 2014). The government’s restricted definition of scientific misconduct has sparked a lot of debate, and many researchers and policymakers are unhappy about it. In any research setting, a study involving vulnerable people, such as children, people with developmental impairments, or homeless or undocumented, raises particular difficulties. Overall, research ethics is a set of rules for conducting research responsibly to educate scientists to maintain a high ethical standard (University of Minnesota, 2003).

Research on AIDS patients

High sensitivity ----- low sensitivity

Research on students’ performances

Debates are ongoing on students’ projects [both at graduate and undergrad levels] about whether they should go through the IRB process. The debates are stemming

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from the notion that the IRB process may appear as a cumbersome job for them which may eventually demoralize doing research. On a personal level, I keep arguing that any research that involves human and animal subjects must go through the IRB process to ensure the safety of the subjects. Of course, a range of research may not go through IRB or may need to go through a fast track/expedited procedure so that students do not have to re-register for the module/course that results in delayed graduation. An example from the USA is that research conducted by specific US federal agencies, overseen by the Food and Drug Administration, or carried out by institutions that have opted to subject all of their research to the Common Rule criteria is legally obligated to undergo ethical review (Larson et al., 2004). What kind of research can be expedited? According to Jacobs (2010) and Ullah and Huque (2014), the IRB may consider expediting the evaluation of research activities that pose just a little risk and fit into one of the following categories. Some issues appear suddenly and need immediate research attention must go through an expedited review process (Ullah & Nawaz, 2020; Ullah et al., 2020). For example, research related to COVID19 must obtain prioritization approval from any IRB (Ullah, 2010a, 2010b, 2012, 2016). Some human subjects may fall into categories exempt from ethical scrutiny (Ullah et al., 2015). This category excludes studies that rely solely on educational examinations, survey processes, interviews, or public behaviour observation unless the data collected are both identifiable and potentially dangerous if made public (Amdur & Bankert, 2011; Millum & Menikoff, 2010).

Fundamental Principles of Research Ethics The issues of ethics form a key element in research (Barbour, 2000; Chetty, 2016). As a result, anybody engaging in research must adhere to the research’s goals of transmitting true knowledge, truth, and error prevention (Barbour, 2000). Accountability, trust, mutual respect, and fairness are all principles that must be shared by all stakeholders involved in research. Hence, ethical considerations in research refer to a researcher’s responsibility to the general public by safeguarding the human or animal participants of a study (Kumar, 2014). Ethical principles—moral judgements—are an expression of how we should behave as individuals (Amdur & Bankert, 2011; Fanelli, 2009; Grady, 2002). Ethics should be based on the principle of non-discrimination against colleagues or students based on sex, race, ethnicity, or other factors not related to scientific competence and integrity (Jacobs, 2010; Resnik, 2015; Ullah & Haque, 2020; Ullah & Huque, 2014). Given the importance of research ethics, it’s no wonder that many professional organizations, government agencies, and universities have developed specific research ethics codes, norms, and policies (Resnik, 2015). Honesty is the primary principle in any research; hence it is the best policy in ethical consideration. Avoidance of subjectivity and adapting objectivity means that avoiding biases is an important component of ethics. Biases could distort the research

34 Ethics and Empirics: Essence of Ethics in Social Research

Honesty

Legality Nondiscrimi nation

Responsible mentoring

Ethics Compe tence

Responsible publication

479

Objectivity

Integrity

Confidentiality

Carefulness

Protection

Openness

Respect

Responsible mentoring

Fig. 34.3 Components of ethics. Adapted from Shamoo and Resnik (2015)

finding, which may lead to a destructive policy formulation. Integrity, openness, and carefulness help minimize errors. Respect for intellectual property and colleagues—one of the important principles of ethics—leads to deterring or avoiding plagiarism and maintaining the veracity of the data and analysis. The confidentiality of the research is crucial to maintaining an ethical standard. In any event, social responsibility should not be overlooked because ethical practices such as research, public education, and lobbying help to alleviate societal ills (Burman et al., 2003; Candilis et al., 2006; Koocher, 1998). Shamoo and Resnik (2015) has outlined detailed components of ethics (Fig. 34.3).

Discussion and Epilogue After reviewing ethical policies of at least 40 prominent institutions (universities, research organizations, etc.) from Asia, North America, the Pacific, and Africa, it is evident that ethical approval has been made a requirement for all research undertaken

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by any staff or student that involves human and animal participants. These days, many university regulations demand ethical approval even if the research does not directly involve human participants but raises additional ethical considerations due to the study’s potential societal or environmental effects. It is also critical that researchers figure out ahead of time whose review body permissions are required for the type of research they will be conducting. The main point is that human reasoning is important in ethical decision-making, but its ability to answer all ethical challenges in a fixed time is limited (Shamoo & Resnik, 2015). Maintaining a high standard of ethics of research means that it must be ensured that participation is voluntary, and any participant must not be coerced to participate in any study. The necessity of informed consent is closely tied to the concept of voluntary involvement. In practice, this implies that potential research volunteers must be thoroughly informed of the processes and dangers associated with the study before agreeing to participate. Participants must be paid for their time and for their transportation (unless participants decline to accept). Venues or locations of interviews should be the choice of the participants. Researchers must be familiar with the ins and outs of any foreign law that may apply to their research. Confidential records should be kept in a safe location with limited access, and identifying information should be removed as well (Meslin & Quaid, 2004). Before the interview is conducted, it is must be made clear to the participants about how the data will be preserved and who will have access to those data and the implications of such accesses, and when they intend to destroy the data. In my case, it took more than six months to get my ethics application approved. The challenge lies with the fact that sometimes the entire period of the research project is one year. This delay will put the completion of the research on time will be jeopardized. In order to obtain informed permission, participants must be explained about how their data will be used, what will be done with case materials, images, audio and video recordings, and all other forms of data acquired in the study (Emanuel et al., 2000). Misconduct is most often caused by both environmental and individual factors, such as when morally weak, uninformed, or insensitive individuals are placed in stressful or flawed circumstances. In any case, even if it does not prevent wrongdoing, a course in research ethics can be valuable in avoiding deviations from norms. By introducing them to concepts, tools, principles, and methodologies, ethical processes should assist researchers in dealing with the problems they are likely to face during the study process. People will get a better grasp of ethical standards and policies due to this, and eventually, their ethical judgement and decision-making will improve. Deviations may occur because some researchers are unaware of some of the most basic ethical research rules. Ethical guidelines also state that researchers should not put participants in situations where they might face bodily or psychological harm as a result of their participation. All research must ensure participant anonymity, which means that identifiable information must not be shared with anybody who is not directly involved in the study. The notion of anonymity is a tighter norm, which means that the subject will stay anonymous during the study—even to the researchers.

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References Amdur, R. & Bankert, E. A. (2011). Institutional review board member handbook. Jones and Bartlett. American Psychological Association. (2002). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. American Psychologist, 57(12). American University. (2016). IRB. American University. Angell, E., et al. (2006). Consistency in decision making by research ethics committees: A controlled comparison. Journal of Medical Ethics, 32(11), 662–664. Barbour, R. S. (2000). The role of qualitative research in broadening the ‘evidence base’ for clinical practice. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 6(2), 155–163. Burkhardt, M. A., Walton, N., & Nathaniel, A. (2014). Ethics and Issues in contemporary nursing. Nelson. Burman, W., et al. (2003). The effects of local review on informed consent documents from a multi-center clinical trials consortium. Controlled Clinical Trials, 24(3), 245–255. Burns, E., Fenwick, J., Schmied, V., & Sheenan, A. (2012). Reflexivity in midwifery research: The insider/outsider debate. Midwifery, 28(1), 52–60. Candilis, P. J., et al. (2006). The need to understand IRB deliberations. IRB: Ethics & Human Research, 28(1), 1–5. Chetty, P. (2016). Importance of ethical considerations in research. https://www.projectguru.in/imp ortance-ethical-considerations-research/ Colt, H. G., & Mulnard, R. A. (2006). Writing an application for a human subjects institutional review board. Chest, 130(5), 1605–1607. Dyrbye, L. N., et al. (2007). Medical education research and IRB review: An analysis and comparison of the IRB review process at six institutions. Academic Medicine, 82(7), 654–660. Emanuel, E., Wendler, D., & Grady, C. (2000). What makes clinical research ethical? Journal of the American Medical Association, 283(20), 2701–2711. Fanelli, D. (2009). How many scientists fabricate and falsify research? A systematic review and meta-analysis of survey data. PLoS ONE, 4(5), e5738. Fitzgerald, M. H., & Phillips, P. A. (2006). Centralized and non-centralized ethics review: A fivenation study. Accountability in Research, 13(1), 47–74. Gajjar, N. B. (2013). Ethical consideration in research. International Journal for Research in Education, 2(7). Grady, C. (2002). Ethical principles of research. In J. I. Gallin & F. P. Ognibene (Eds.), Principles and practice of clinical research (pp. 15–27). Academic Press. Gunsalus, C. K., et al. (2007). The Illinois white paper: Improving the system for protecting human subjects: Counteracting IRB “mission creep.” Qualitative Inquiry, 13(5), 617–649. Jacobs, M. R. (2010). Institutional review boards and independent ethics committees. In M. J. McGraw, A. N. George, S. P. Shearn, R. L. Hall, Jr. T. F. Haws (Eds.), Principles of good clinical practice. (1st ed.,). Pharmaceutical Press. Karnieli-Miller, O., Strier, R., & Pessach, L. (2009). Power relations in qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research, 19(2), 279–289. Koocher, G. P. (1998). The journal Ethics and Behavior and co-author of Ethics in psychology: Professional standards and cases. Oxford University Press. Kumar, R. (2014). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners (Google eBook 4th ed.,). SAGE. Lalor, J. G., Begley, C. M., & Devane, D. (2006). Exploring painful experiences: Impact of emotional narratives on members of a qualitative research team. Journal of Advanced Nursing., 55(5), 607–616. Larson, E., Bratts, T., Zwanziger, J., & Stone, P. (2004). A survey of IRB process in 68 U.S. hospitals. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 36(3), 260–264. Levine, C. (2009). Taking sides: Clashing views on controversial bioethical issues. McGrawHill/Dushkin.

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Malacrida, C. (2007). Reflexive journaling on emotional research topics: Ethical issues for team researchers. Qualitative Health Research, 17(10), 1329–1339. Meslin, E. M., & Quaid, K. A. (2004). Ethical issues in the collection, storage, and research use of human biological materials. Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine, 144(5), 229–234. Millum, J., & Menikoff, J. (2010). Streamlining ethical review. Annals of Internal Medicine, 153(10), 655–657. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-153-10-201011160-00008 Nowak, K. S., et al. (2006). Reforming the oversight of multi-site clinical research: A review of two possible solutions. Accountability in Research: Policies & Quality Assurance, 13(1), 11–24. Råheim, M., Magnussen, L. H., Sekse, R. J. T., Lunde, Å., Jacobsen, T., & Blystad, A. (2016). Researcher-researched relationship in qualitative research: Shifts in positions and researcher vulnerability. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, 11, 30996. Published 14th Jun 2016. https://doi.org/10.3402/qhw.v11.30996 Resnik, D. B. (2015). What is ethics in research & why is it important? National Institute of Health. Sales, B. D., & Folkman, S. (Eds.). (2000). Ethics in research with human participants. American Psychological Association. Shamoo, A., & Resnik, D. (2015). Responsible conduct of research. Oxford University Press. Stair, T. O., et al. (2001). Variation in institutional review board responses to a standard protocol for a multicenter clinical trial. Academic Emergency Medicine, 8(6), 636–641. Ullah, A. K. M. A., & Haque, S. (2020). The migration myth in policy and practice: Dreams, development and despair. Springer. Ullah, A. K. M. A., & Huque, A. S. (2014). Asian immigrants in North America with HIV/AIDS: Stigma, vulnerabilities and human rights. Springer. Ullah, A. K. M. A., & Nawaz, F. (2020). Surrogacy-led migration: Reflections on the Policy Dilemmas. Public Administration and Policy, 22(2), In Press. (Emerald Journal) Ullah, A. K. M. A., Hossain, A., Azizuddin, M., & Nawaz, F. (2020). Social research methods: migration in perspective. Migration Letters, 17(2), 357–368. Ullah, A. K. M. A., Hossain, M. A., & Islam, K. M. (2015). Migrants and workers fatalities. Palgrave McMillan. Ullah, A. K. M. A. (2010a) (1st ed). Rationalizing migration decisions: Labour migrants in south and south-east Asia. Ashgate. Routledge (2nd ed., 2016). Ullah, A. K. M. A. (2010b). Population migration in Asia: Theories and practice. Nova Science Publishers. (Monograph) Ullah A. K. M. A. (2012). Divergence and convergence in the nation-state: The roles of religion and migration. Nova Science. Ullah A. K. M. A. (2016). Globalization and the health of Indigenous peoples: From colonization to self-rule. Routledge. University of Minnesota. (2003). A guide to research ethics. University of Minnesota: Center for Bioethics.

Part VII

Referencing and Plagiarism

Chapter 35

Plagiarism and Referencing Techniques Used in Social Research Report Hossain M. Zabed and Xianghui Qi

Abstract The result of a research work is usually communicated by writing a report in which plagiarism and referencing system need to be carefully checked for compliance with the pre-defined standards and to make it original, well-formatted, and acceptable. Plagiarism is simply stealing other’s works, ideas, methods, outcomes, and interpretations without appropriately acknowledging the original source. It is considered one of the serious misconducts in any academic writing, and hence research reports should be plagiarism free or within the acceptable range of plagiarism. Referencing is another important aspect of academic writing that deals with acknowledging others’ works in an appropriate format. Some referencing styles are available that can vary in formatting guidelines. A report should conform to the prescribed guidelines of a style suggested by the journal or organization to which it is to be submitted. Therefore, acquiring adequate knowledge about referencing styles will greatly help young researchers, particularly undergraduate and postgraduate students, to write their research reports respecting the prescribed formats. A standard referencing system consists of the in-text citation and the list of all references at the end of the report. Several reference management software have been developed and used to make the references of a report conforming to the recommended style. Endnote is one such software that is widely used in all fields of academic research. This chapter provides insights into the principles of plagiarism and techniques for avoiding this academic crime from a research report. It also discusses the fundamentals of referencing in academic writing, referencing styles and approaches, reference management software, and recommended guidelines for each style with easy-to-understand examples. Keywords Academic writing · Plagiarism · Plagiarism checking tools · Referencing · Bibliography · Reference management software

H. M. Zabed (B) · X. Qi School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_35

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Introduction In the current competitive world, researchers need to compete with their colleagues in professional life, where publication is regarded as a key quality indicator to get a job, promotion, or success in an academic or research career. The publication is also an asset that qualifies authors to attain appreciation and acknowledgement as professionals in a certain area in both the national and international arena (Asnake, 2015). Likewise, publication and thesis or dissertation writing after completing research works is one of the major requirements of any graduate student to get his/her graduation (Blair, 2016). Researchers or professionals also need to write projects and/or reports on their projects to submit to the funding agencies to get research funds or close any allocated project. In all these contexts, plagiarism and referencing are the two key aspects of academic writing, which need to maintain and check carefully for achieving a standard and acceptable end product by meeting pre-defined standards, and making the publication or report original and well-formatted (Alzahrani et al., 2012; Husain et al., 2017). With the advancements in digitalization and enrichment of online resources, researchers can now get easy access to a wide variety of websites and large databases. This, in turn, has increased the chances to identify the similarity of any publication or report with the previously published resources already available online, which is referred to as plagiarism (Maurer et al., 2006). Plagiarism is simply the stealing of other’s works, ideas, methods, outcomes, and interpretations without appropriately acknowledging the source. It is considered one of the serious misconducts in any academic writing, and hence, research reports should be free from plagiarism or within the acceptable range of similarity (Debnath, 2016; Masic, 2019; Singh & Remenyi, 2016). Acceptability of any academic writing is significantly hampered if it is compromised with the standards of plagiarism. Manuscript with high plagiarism is often difficult to publish, and in fact, many research items are rejected from the journals at the submission stage simply for the plagiarism issues (Debnath, 2016). Referencing is another most important part of writing a report in any academic research study. In general, the referencing system is defined as the acknowledgement of the work or ideas of another person, which has been published formally and is available publicly in some other way (East, 2005; Neville, 2012). The reference provides essential information so the reader can retrieve the published or unpublished works, sources of data, and other material used by the writer in his/her report. In academic research and writing, information is often borrowed from other sources to explain the theoretical underpinning of the study, the importance of the current work, and the implication of the research outcomes. An appropriate referencing system recognizes the ideas and work of others, and it expresses the loyalty of the writer to acknowledging the foundations of these ideas in the current work. A lack of references in a report means that the author is plagiarizing (Juyal et al., 2015) since all research is based to some extent on the ideas and previous research of others. With the increasing numbers of undergraduate and postgraduate students engaging in academic research, young researchers face difficulties in avoiding plagiarism

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and maintaining referencing system properly in their research reports (Cleal, 2005; Martin, 2013; Neville, 2010). A comprehensive and an easy to understand presentation of the plagiarism and referencing systems would help to give the young researchers proper knowledge at the early stages of their research. Considering these facts, this chapter provides an overview of the plagiarism and referencing systems used in social research reporting by dividing the contents into two sections. In the first section, the basics of plagiarism and how to avoid it are discussed, while an overview and maintaining referencing in academic writing are discussed in the second section.

Plagiarism Understanding Plagiarism Plagiarism is the act of presenting someone else’s work or idea as one’s work without providing suitable credit or acknowledgement of the original source. More specifically, plagiarism is referred to as the “unauthorized misappropriation of another work, ideas, methods, results, or words without giving the original source” (Ghajarzadeh et al., 2013). As stated by the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), plagiarism is considered if six consecutive words are copied from the original source (Masic, 2012, 2019). Plagiarism is one of the serious misconducts in academic writing, and any report or publication should be free from such misconduct for the author’s reputation and professionalism. Plagiarism can be generally classified into two categories, plagiarism of text and idea, where the former is the most common type of plagiarism. On the other hand, plagiarism of an idea is the most critical one as it is very difficult to trace out if any researcher steals someone else’s idea. A report can be plagiarized if it is flawed by any of the below acts (Debnath, 2016; Maurer et al., 2006): • Claiming someone else’s work as one’s own work. • Copying and pasting a significant portion of someone’s published materials without proper acknowledgement or citation. • Copying a part or whole document. • Failing to put a quotation in quotation mark. • Presenting others’ work in different words but with the same meaning (paraphrasing) without proper acknowledgement or citation. • Reusing portions of the author’s own published works, which is known as selfplagiarism. • Copying a significant part of someone else’s single material in one’s own report, even if the proper acknowledgements or credits are given.

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Reasons of Plagiarism A physicist and politician, Walter Bagehot, said, “The tendency of a human to imitate what is in front of him is one of the strongest parts of his nature”. This is, in fact, the inherent reason why people plagiarize their academic writing. Moreover, despite plagiarism can be found in all levels of academic writing, the most concerning cases are recently found in student’s writing. Young researchers or graduate students may come across plagiarism misconduct for various reasons, ranging from the real lack of knowledge to complete disgraceful intentions (Debnath, 2016; Juyal et al., 2015; Mohammed et al., 2015): • • • •

Wishing to get good marks or not to be failed in the examinations. Extreme pressure for publication. Inappropriate time management or delaying their works. Lack of knowledge on plagiarism and understanding citation or referencing style or unawareness of the policy of plagiarism in the institution (accidental plagiarism). • Poor writing skills. • Personal belief that plagiarism is not a crime. • An abundance of resources online (unintentional plagiarism).

How to Avoid Plagiarism To avoid plagiarism, it is necessary to arrange and deliver good lectures to the novices by the experts or experienced professionals or superior authority of the institution at the beginning of conducting research and academic writing. The lectures should include introducing the students to the policy of the institution on plagiarism, together with covering the research ethics, how to comply with the research ethics, how to avoid plagiarism, and what are the punishments to be encountered for violating plagiarism and research ethics. It is also equally important that novices should be properly trained in academic writing skills, particularly non-native speaking students. The major ways of avoiding plagiarism in academic writing are highlighted below (Anonymous, 2020a, 2020b; Masic, 2019) • Understanding the context and paraphrasing: Source material should be read carefully to find out the relevant information. Copy-paste of the information from that previously published material should be avoided by alternatively understanding the content and restating it in own words. This technique of avoiding plagiarism is preferably known as paraphrasing. However, acknowledging or citing the source material is still required, otherwise, the report will be plagiarized even if the information is paraphrased. • and citation of the source material: Any text, equation, idea, or figure included in the report from a previously published material needs to be appropriately acknowledged and cited in the right place. Citing the source material is an effective way to

35 Plagiarism and Referencing Techniques Used in Social Research …

•

•

•

•

•

489

keep the report free from plagiarism. If the source material belongs to the author’s own published work, it is still required to cite properly in the new writing to avoid plagiarism. Taking permission for the reproduced materials: Some reports or manuscripts may directly incorporate any figure, table, or images from the previously published works. In this case, only citation or acknowledgement is not enough, and also, proper permission must be taken from the copyright persons or organization. Citing one’s own published materials: Any information that needs to be included in one’s report from the materials published by the same author(s) previously also should be checked through to avoid self-plagiarism. The text should be considered as if it were written by someone else. Using information by quoting: Wherever it is planned to add any information by quoting a source, it should be done the same way it appears. It should not be misquoted. However, it should be kept in mind that some higher education organizations may discourage quoting or quotes with words out of 40 words or more. Citing a quote may be dissimilar to citing paraphrased material. The enclosure of a reference list: To avoid plagiarism, a reference list should be added at the end of the report. References included in the reference list must meet the requirements or the formatting guidelines used by the educational institution or journal where the manuscript is going to be submitted. The information required for a reference is very specific and usually contains the author(s), date of publication, title, and source. Checking the report in plagiarism checkers: Before finalizing or submitting the report or manuscript to the destination, it should be checked through for avoiding unintentional plagiarism. In recent years, due to the abundance of online resources, plagiarism still may occur in the report unintentionally. However, the similarity found after plagiarism checking must be reduced even if it is unintentional.

Detecting Plagiarism Plagiarism can be detected broadly in three ways, such as comparing one’s own report against a body of other documents available in any resource or online, searching a representative passage or paragraph of the report or writing material in a search engine popularly Google, and stylometric analysis of a document to compare it with the writing style of the documents written earlier by the same author (Maurer et al., 2006). Among these three techniques, the former is popularly used to detect plagiarism, while the latter two are not so commonly practiced. Nowadays, it is not unusual for a scholar or author to find a reproduction of his/her published material in another published document by someone else without appropriate credit or acknowledgement of the original work (Debnath, 2016). Based on the above-mentioned techniques, many tools have been developed for checking plagiarism automatically rather than doing it manually. Each tool has its

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own merits and demerits, and is available either for free or may need a subscription or paying money (Table 35.1). The plagiarism checking tools can work by searching their own databases, Web and bibliographic databases, or internet sources and give the results as the percentage of similarity with various documents available in the databases. For example, Turnitin is one of the most popular and widely used plagiarism checking tools that provide results as the similarity index (total similarity), including specifically the similarity from internet sources, publications, and student’s papers.

Referencing Importance of Referencing Referencing is important for various reasons. It is an integral part of any research document. A standard and acceptable document should be consistent with a good referencing system. Some key reasons for maintaining a good referencing system are as follows (Cleal, 2005; Garfield, 1996; Neville, 2010): • It is a matter of honesty and presenting research outcomes ethically and responsibly. • Ideas, data, and materials used in research reports from the public domain are products of someone’s hard work and/or intellectual property, which should be recognized. • Plagiarism can partly be avoided by correct referencing. • Referencing helps readers to trace the origin of ideas and distinguish between the writer’s concept and an idea that is already published by another person. • Disputes, statements, and viewpoints are essential parts of a research report that can be validated through reliable sources of information, where referencing is the best method of identifying such evidence. • Referencing provides an opportunity to identify influential sources that other researchers might also use. • Referencing can identify the methodology, equipment used, data sources, etc. • It provides the background of the document to the reader. • Referencing can correctly identify one’s published work. • It creates an opportunity to evaluate the previously published work. • Referencing can substantiate or justify the claims made in a document. • Referencing is important for identifying the original publications in which an idea or concept was discussed.

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Table 35.1 Plagiarism checking tools (ESC, 2020; Pappas, 2013) Name

Pros

Cons

Turnitin

• Simple process • Automated searching tool • More reliable • The highest rate of detection

• Need an ongoing Not free fee for use • It does not differentiate between correctly cited material and material that is plagiarized • It cannot check figures or table included in a document whether they are legitimate or plagiarized

Availability

Weblink

iThenticate

• It is mostly • It does not search Not free intended for the context publishers, submitted corporations, law previously firms, and others

http://www.ithent icate.com/

Plagiarism.org

• Can track digital information • Can combat piracy of intellectual property

• Can not detect problems in paragraphs with minor changes

Not free

https://plagiarism. org/

Dupli checker

• Free of charge • Easy to use

• Only one search each day

Entirely free

https://www.duplic hecker.com/

Copyleaks

• Good for Education and Business • Multiple file formats and languages

• Can only use after sign up • Free page restriction

Need to buy a https://copyleaks. plan com/

PaperRater

• Three tools in one, proofreader & grammar check, vocabulary builder, plagiarism checker • Fast results

• Can not save reports

Need to buy a https://www.pap plan errater.com/

http://www.tur nitin.com/

(continued)

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Table 35.1 (continued) Name

Pros

Cons

Availability

Weblink

Plagiarisma

• Basic and easy-to-use • Multi-purpose tool • Firefox and Chrome extensions

• Limited checks per day

Free and premium for upgrade

http://plagiarisma. net/

Plagiarism checker

• User-friendly • Detailed guidelines • Entirely online

• Supports only Entirely free Google or Yahoo of charge browsers

http://www.plagia rismchecker.com/

Plagium

• Basic but fully functional • Easy to use

• Limited free features

Free for http://www.pla limited words gium.com/

PlagScan

• Fully online • Integration features

• Relatively complicated interface

Need to buy a https://www.pla plan gscan.com/plagia rism-check/

PlagTracker

• Fast • Detailed reports • Six languages supported

• No file uploading Need to buy a https://www.plagtr in the free plan acker.com/ version

Quetext

• Basic layout and functional interface • Unlimited usage

• No file uploading Entirely Free of charge

https://www.que text.com/

Viper

• A three-step tool • User-friendly interface

• Limited target group, mostly students

https://www.sca nmyessay.com/

Entirely Free of charge

When Is Referencing Necessary? A typical research report consists of several parts, such as the abstract or summary, introduction, methodology, materials and methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. In the introduction and discussion sections, information is often borrowed from other sources to explain the theoretical underpinning, importance, and potential implications of the outcomes of the present work. The materials and methods section contains references if the methodology or methods are adapted from a previous study. This section also needs referencing when describing the source of material and equipment used in the study. Abstract, results, and conclusion almost always lack any referencing as the authors explain their outcomes in these sections either broadly or in summary. However, the abstract and conclusion may also contain a short reference if this cannot be avoided, particularly when it is necessary to draw a conclusion or suggestion based on the research work of someone else. Specifically, referencing should be done rigorously when writing a research report to clarify the

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sources of information used in the study. Some of these specific contents of the report are pointed out below: • When describing or discussing a definition, theory, model, concept, or practice associated with a particular writer; e.g., “Referencing can be defined as the acknowledgement of the works or ideas of other persons, which have been published formally or are available in the public domain in another way” (Reference). • To demonstrate the importance of the work; e.g., “It has been reported that environmental conditions significantly affect the growth of a crop during field experiment” (Reference). • To point out a research gap in the report; e.g., “In a recent study, it has been pointed out that still there is no scientific data on how the migrant workers can contribute to the social stability of the country” (Reference). • To show the vastness of the research work on the specific topic of the writer; e.g., “Numerous studies have been done over the last several decades to improve technical and technological aspects of energy production” (Reference-1; Reference-2; Reference-3 and so on). • To describe the method(s) used in the study; e.g., “Starch content in the rice flour was determined by the enzymatic method” (Reference). • To mention the source of data used in the research/report; e.g., “Data present in this report on weather conditions during the experiment were obtained from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Malaysia” (Reference). • To identify the source of a material or equipment used during an experiment; e.g., “The constructs used in this study were drawn from recent research” (Reference) • To show the similarity of the research outcome(s) to others’ work; e.g., “In our investigation, it was observed that organizational performance decreased significantly with the decrease in workforce diversity. Similar findings have been reported elsewhere” (Reference). • To compare the study results with literature; e.g., “The blood pressure (BP) was recorded 140/95 in a patient under a stress condition. In an earlier study, BP was reported 145/90 in a patient under the same stress condition” (Reference). • To explain the research outcomes logically; e.g., “It was observed that ethanol concentration reached a plateau after a certain time. This might have happened for the exhaustion of soluble sugars over time” (Reference).

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Source of Referencing Materials and Ways of Citation The sources of a reference can be either from a primary or secondary origin that includes a variety of works. Some of these sources are listed below, with the list in decreasing levels of reliability of the source information: • Journal articles (communications, full papers, reviews, perspectives, minireviews, opinions, analysis articles, comments, etc.) • Dictionaries • Encyclopaedias • Theses and dissertations • Books and edited books • Book sections or book chapters • Government documents • Conference proceedings • Reports • Patents • Personal communication from a reliable source • Online database • Magazine article • Newspaper article • Catalogue • Podcast (reliability depends on the organization) • Web page (reliability depends on the organization) • Unpublished work • Blog. Referencing different source materials in a research report is done in four ways (Kasi, 2009): • Paraphrasing: selected portions from the source materials are included in the report, but the author uses their own words while being careful that meaning does not change. • Summarizing: one or more paragraphs of the source work are written with fewer words and sentences without changing the meaning or essence of the original work. • Interpreting: the outcomes of the original work are presented by the author while ensuring the interpretation is accurate and does not conflict with the source. • Quoting: the actual words of the source are used in quotation marks (“………”), listing the page number of the source material after the in-text reference.

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Fig. 35.1 Schematic diagram of the referencing styles. Source Adapted by author

Referencing Styles All referencing should be in the same style throughout the text and bibliography. A good referencing system has two steps citing the source material in the text, and listing the full details of each source, usually at the end of the text as a reference list. A bibliography lists additional materials that were consulted, but not used in the report. Style rules for citations and bibliographies vary depending on the academic field, institution, publisher, or organization where the research report is to be submitted. All the citations and references mentioned in the research report should exactly match the prescribed style, including punctuation, use of capitals and italics, bold fields, abbreviations, use of DOI, and details of the volume and issue numbers for a journal. Correct referencing not only adds to the quality of the report but also establishes the capacity of the author to write to a high standard. Using a referencing software program such as EndNote ensures the referencing will be presented correctly, provided the source information is accurate. Referencing styles are broadly classified into two major types, either a name style or a numerical style (Neville, 2008). Both referencing styles are subdivided into several styles introduced by different renowned organizations (Fig. 35.1). These styles are summarized in Table 35.2 with examples.

APA Style The APA style is one of the most commonly used referencing styles in science, social and behavioural sciences (Kasi, 2009). It is also frequently used for discipline papers, and many journals and publishers. Since this style is used so commonly, the following section explains how to present references in the APA style.

Number

American Chemical Society

Australian Guide to Legal Citation

American Medical Association

American Psychological Association

Chicago Manual of Style

ACS

AGLC

AMA

APA

Chicago

Author-date

Author-date

Number

Number

Style

Full name

Style Chemistry and related disciplines

Major field of application

The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed

Concise rules of APA style, 6th ed

AMA manual of style: a guide for authors and editors, 10th ed

Arts and humanities

Widely used in many disciplines, particularly in the Social Sciences

Medicine

Australian guide to Law legal citation, 3rd ed

The ACS style guide: effective communication of scientific information, 3rd ed

Available manual

Table 35.2 A summary of different referencing styles

This issue has been addressed in a recent study (Weinstein, 2009)

Williams (2008) reported that…

Diabetes mellitus is associated with a high risk of foot ulcers.13

(continued)

Weinstein, J. I. “The Market in Plato’s Republic.” The New Republic 104 (2009): 439–58

Williams, J. H. (2008). Employee engagement: Improving participation in safety. Professional Safety, 53(12), 40–45

13. Geller AC, Venna S, Prout M, et al. Should the skin cancer examination be taught in medical school? Arch Dermatol. 2002;138(9):1201–1203

45 Augusto Zimmerman, ‘How Brazilian Judges Undermine the Rule of Law. A Critical Appraisal’ (2008) 11 International Trade and Business Law Review 179, 184

2. Stocker, J. H., Ed. Chemistry and Science Fiction; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1998

Stocker2 reported that…

It has been reported that…….45

Reference list example

In-text example

496 H. M. Zabed and X. Qi

Style

Author-date

Author-date

Number

Author-date

Full name

Council of Science Editors/Council of Biology Editors

−

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Modern Language Association of America

Style

CSE (CBE)

Harvard

IEEE

MLA

Table 35.2 (continued)

MLA style manual and guide to scholarly publishing, 3rd ed. and MLA Handbook for writers of research papers, 7th ed

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Style Manual

There is no official manual of the Harvard style

Scientific style and format: the CSE manual for authors, editors, and publishers, 7th ed

Available manual

Modern literature and linguistics

Electrical engineering and computer science

Not specified

Life sciences, and other scientific disciplines

Major field of application

Bradbury, A.J. (2006) Successful presentation skills. 3rd ed. London: Kogan Page

Bennett AB, Gratton C. 2012. Measuring natural pest suppression at different spatial scales affects the importance of local variables. Environ Entomol. 41(5):1077–85

Reference list example

Hughes et al. (2004) reported that….

(continued)

Hughes, Jane C., Elizabeth V. Brestan, and Linda Anne Valle. “Problem-Solving Interactions between Mothers and Children” Child and Family Behavior Therapy 26.1 (2004): 1–16

It is believed that…[1] [1] B. Klaus and P. Horn, Robot Vision. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1986

Bradbury (2006) concluded that…

An earlier study was conducted on…. (Bennett and Gratton 2012)

In-text example

35 Plagiarism and Referencing Techniques Used in Social Research … 497

Style

Number

Full name

−

Style

Vancouver

Table 35.2 (continued)

There is no official manual, but the US National Library of Medicine’s style guide is now considered as the guide

Available manual Health sciences

Major field of application

Reference list example

An unhealthy diet may Song M, Lipman TH. Concept cause Type 2 diabetes1 analysis: self-monitoring in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Int J Nurs Stud.2008;45(11):1700–10

In-text example

498 H. M. Zabed and X. Qi

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In-text citation in the APA style has two elements- the author’s name followed by a comma, and the year of the publication. The exact citation style changes, based on the number of authors, the number of citations in a single statement, and the expression style of the statement. Citing a source with only one author shows the surname of the author without any initial, a comma, and the year of publication, e.g., (Rahim, 2014). For two authors of a source, show the surnames of both authors separated by “and” then followed by a comma and the year, e.g., (Rahim & Jabbar, 2010). A source with more than two authors is cited using the surname of the first author followed by et al. and year, e.g., (John et al., 2016). When more than one work is cited for a single statement, the references are listed in alphabetical order by the first author’s name, with each reference separated by a semicolon, e.g., (Abraham, 2015; Liu et al., 2012; Russel and Zhang, 2008). When two or more works are cited with the same author and the same year, the references are distinguished by using a, b, c…. after the year, e.g., (Boyce et al., 2016a; Boyce et al., 2016b). The in-text APA referencing style changes based on the style of a statement in the report. When the statement appears without mentioning the author’s name, the citation is shown as: It has been reported that overpopulation affects the country’s economy (Smith et al., 1989). On the other hand, referencing an author as part of the narrative is shown as Smith et al., (1989) reported that overpopulation affects the country’s economy. The list of references in the APA style is presented at the end of the document in alphabetical order, based on the first author’s surname (see details in Table 35.2). If the reference runs over more than one line, each line of the reference after the first should be indented. For each reference, the first author’s family name is listed followed by a comma, then the author’s initials are listed with a full stop and space between each initial, and the reference finishes with a full stop. All authors are presented in this way, with each author separated by a comma, then adding ‘and’ before the last author followed by a full stop, then the year of publication in round brackets followed by a full stop, e.g., Kim et al., (2017). After the authors, the title of the source material is listed in full with all spelling and punctuation reproduced in the reference list exactly as it is written in the source document. When the source is published in a refereed journal, APA referencing requires the volume and issue number, as well as the start and finishing page numbers. When there is more than one author in the journal paper, the reference is listed in the following way: • One author: Surname of the author followed by initial(s): Williams, J. H. (2008). Employee engagement: Improving participation in safety. Professional Safety, 53(12), 40-45.

• At least two and up to seven authors: List all authors with the surname followed by initials, using the same order as in the source: Kim, H., Burgard, S. A., and Seefeldt, K S. (2017). Housing Assistance and Housing Insecurity: A Study of Renters in Southeastern Michigan in the Wake of the Great Recession. 91(1), 41–70.

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• Eight or more authors: List the first six authors followed by a separator …… then ‘and’ followed by the last author’s name: Wolchik, S. A., West, S. G., Sandler, I. N., Tein, J.-Y., Coatsworth, D., Lengua, L.,...Griffin, W. A. (2000). An experimental evaluation of theory-based mother and mother–child programs for children of divorce. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(5), 843-856.

Reference is presented slightly differently when the source is an edited book. The authors’ names, year of publication, and title are listed for a journal article. After this, the names and initials of the editors are listed with the initials coming before the surname, then (Eds.) is added to indicate that these people are the editors, not the authors. Following this, the title of the book, place of publication and publisher’s name is listed. If the source material is from a chapter in an edited book, the authors of the chapter are listed, followed by the year, and the title of the chapter. Then the names of the book editors are listed, the title of the book, and the publisher’s location is followed by a colon and then the publisher’s name (see examples in Table 35.3).

Reference Management Software Reference management (RM) software is now widely used by researchers as an essential tool for academic writing. RM software offers some advantages in academic writing, and they are popular, even though not all of the software programs provide equal advantages. Some RM software programs are available in the market, and some of which are popular with the scientific community are presented in Box 35.1. In general, RM software programs are expected to be able to provide the following benefits (Gilmour & Cobus-Kuo, 2011): • • • • • • • • • • •

Easy formatting of different referencing styles Organizing references correctly Searching and sorting source materials Providing citation annotations Data migration between different reference managing systems Sharing the RM database among researchers Citing references and creating accurate bibliographies Integrating word processor and RM software for citations Importing citations from databases and websites Accumulating metadata Managing citations in the database of the software itself.

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Table 35.3 General rules for referencing system in APA style Referencing source

General rule

Examples

Authored book

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. Location published: Publisher

• Alexie, S. (1992). The business of fancy dancing: Stories and poems. Brooklyn, NY: Hang Loose Press. • Zhu, Y., Lan, H., Ness, D. A., Xing, K., Schneider, K., Lee, S. H., & Ge, J. (2015). Transforming rural communities in China and beyond: Community entrepreneurship and enterprises, infrastructure development and investment modes. Heidelberg: Springer.

Edited book

Author, A. A., Author, B. B. • Chamberlain, S., (Eds.). Title of the book. Volume Foxwell-Norton, K., & if applicable. Series Title if Anderson, H. (Eds.). (2014). applicable, Series Editor if Generation next: Becoming applicable. Location published: socially enterprising. Oxford: Publisher Oxford University Press. • Majamdar, S., Guha, S., & Marakkath, N. (Eds.). (2015). Technology and Innovation for Social Change. New York: Springer.

Chapter in an edited book Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the • Booth-LaForce, C., & Kerns, chapter. In: A. A. Editor (Eds.) K. A. (2009). Child-parent Title of the Book, (pp. xxx-xxx). attachment relationships, peer Location published: Publisher relationships, and peer-group functioning. In: K. H. Rubin, W. M. Bukowski, & B. Laursen (Eds.), Handbook of peer interactions, relationships, and groups (pp. 490–507). New York, NY: Guilford Press. • Mandinyenya, I., E., & Douglas, H. (2014). Pragmatic altruism: A gentle process of co-creating social enterprise in a developing country. In H. Douglas, & S. Grant (Eds.), Social Entrepreneurship and Enterprise: Concepts in Context (pp. 219–240). Melbourne: TUP. (continued)

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Table 35.3 (continued) Referencing source

General rule

Refereed journal (printed) Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume (Issue no.), xxx-xxx

Examples • Keller, T. E., Cusick, G. R., & Courtney, M. E. (2007). Approaching the transition to adulthood: Distinctive profiles of adolescents ageing out of the child welfare system. Social Services Review, 81(3), 453–484. • Singh, G. & Belwal, R. (2008). Entrepreneurship and SMEs in Ethiopia: Evaluating the role, prospects, and problems faced by women in this emergent sector. Gender in Management: An International Journal 23(2), 120–136.

Online journal

Author, A. A. (Year, Date). Title • Senior, B., & Swailes, S. of work. Title of the Journal, (2007). Inside management Volume (Issue no.), xxx-xxx. teams: Developing a teamwork DOI survey instrument. British Journal of Management, 18, 138–153.https://doi.org/10. 1111/j.1467-8551.2006.00507. x

Online report

Author, A. A. (Year, Date). Title • Kenney, G. M., Cook, A., & of report. Retrieved from URL, Pelletier, J. (2009). Prospects date of retrieval for reducing uninsured rates among children: How much can premium assistance programs help? Retrieved from Urban Institute website: http:// www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID= 411823. Accessed 23 March 2017.

Government report

Author (if known), Department • Department of Foreign Affairs Name in Full. (Year). Title of the and Trade. (2011). report. Location: Department International Development Name Policy Statement: Supporting sustainable development. Wellington NZ: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (continued)

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Table 35.3 (continued) Referencing source

General rule

Online magazine article

Author, A. A. (Year, Date). Title • Lodewijkx, H. F. M. (2001, of work. Title of the Magazine, May 23). Individual-group Volume (Issue no.), xxx-xxx. continuity in cooperation and Retrieved from URL, retrieval competition under varying date communication conditions. Current Issues in Social Psychology, 6(12), 166–182. Retrieved from http://www. uiowa.edu/~grpproc/crisp/ crisp.6.12.htm

Examples

Print magazine article

Author, A. A. (Year, Date). Title • Mathews, J., Berrett, D., & of work. Title of the Magazine, Brillman, D. (2005, May 16). Volume (Issue no.), xxx-xxx Other winning equations. Newsweek, 145 (20), 58–59.

Box 35.1 Name

Major advantage

References

EndNote

• Bibliographies made easy • Compatible for both Windows and Macintosh computers • A desktop application, making it accessible both online and offline

http://www.endnote.com/

Reference manager • Bibliographies make easy on the desktop and web

http://www.refman.com/

ProCite

• An information toolbox

http://www.procite.com/

RefViz

• Explore research literature visually

http://www.refviz.com/

Citation

• Bibliography and research note http://www.citationonline.net/9software home

Sonny software

• Reference bibliographic management

http://www.sonnysoftware.com/

RefWorks

• Web-based and compatible on all platforms

http://www.refworks.com/

Mendeley

• Combines desktop and web-based applications • Gathers metadata from pdf

http://www.mendeley.com/

Zotero

• Automatic synchronization across multiple computers • Gathers metadata from pdf

http://www.zotero.com/

CiteULike

• Exchanges data with other RM http://www.citeulike.com/

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Conclusions In any academic writing, plagiarism is considered serious misconduct that also violates research ethics. Therefore, young researchers should be aware of this and encouraged or emphasized to write their reports or document without plagiarism. There are many plagiarism checking tools either free or paid which young researchers can use to check their document whether it is plagiarized or free from plagiarism. Another important part of a document is the referencing system. Accurate referencing is required in academic writing, and it is a vital part of a research report. A typical referencing system has two parts, the citation in the text, and a reference list at the end of the text. Referencing is used in almost all sections of a research report. Information in a report can be borrowed from various source materials, but the source of the information must be accredited with a reference. The contents of a source can be presented in a report through paraphrasing, summarizing, interpreting, or quoting, provided the course is accredited. Citation of a source can be done either numerically or by author and date systems, but the references must be presented in a consistent style throughout the report. Many referencing styles have been standardized for academic writing, and the preferred style varies depending on the field and discipline of the research. APA is the most used style in social science and associated disciplines such as management. Reference management software systems are widely used in academic writing, with EndNote probably the most popular and widely used.

References Alzahrani, S., Palade, V., Salim, N., & Abraham, A. (2012). Using structural information and citation evidence to detect significant plagiarism cases in scientific publications. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 63, 286–312. Anonymous. (2020a). 6 ways to avoid plagiarism in research papers. From http://en.writecheck. com/ways-to-avoid-plagiarism. Accessed May 14, 2020a. Anonymous. (2020b). How to avoid plagiarism in research papers (Part 1). From https://www. enago.com/academy/how-to-avoid-plagiarism-in-research-papers/. Accessed May 14, 2020b. Asnake, M. (2015). The importance of scientific publication in the development of public health. Ciencia & Saude Coletiva, 20, 1972–1973. Blair, L. (2016). Writing a graduate thesis or dissertation. Brill Sense. Cleal, J. (2005). The role of referencing policy and advice in supporting undergraduate learners. Studies in Learning, Evaluation, Innovation and Development, 2, 49–55. Debnath, J. (2016). Plagiarism: A silent epidemic in scientific writing–Reasons, recognition and remedies. Medical Journal Armed Forces India, 72, 164–167. East, J. (2005). Proper acknowledgment? Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice 2, Articles ID 2. ESC. (2020). Effectiveness of anti-plagiarism software. ESC instructional technology toolbox. From https://sites.google.com/site/empirestatecollegeprojects/turnitin/anti-plagiarism-softwarepros-and-cons. Accessed May 15, 2020. Garfield, E. (1996). When to cite. The Library Quarterly, 66, 449–458.

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Ghajarzadeh, M., Mohammadifar, M., & Safari, S. (2013). Introducing plagiarism and its aspects to medical researchers is essential. Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, 2, 186. Gilmour, R., & Cobus-Kuo, L. (2011). Reference management software: A comparative analysis of four products. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, 66, 63–75. Husain, F. M., Al-Shaibani, G. K. S., & Mahfoodh, O. H. A. (2017). Perceptions of and attitudes toward plagiarism and factors contributing to plagiarism: A review of studies. Journal of Academic Ethics, 15, 167–195. Juyal, D., Thawani, V., & Thaledi, S. (2015). Plagiarism: an egregious form of misconduct. North American Journal of Medical Sciences, 7, 77. Kasi, P. M. (2009). Research: What, why and how? A treatise from researchers to researchers. Author House. Martin, B. R. (2013). Whither research integrity? Plagiarism, self-plagiarism and coercive citation in an age of research assessment. Research Policy, 42, 1005–1014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.res pol.2013.03.011 Masic, I. (2012). Plagiarism in scientific publishing. Acta Informatica Medica, 20, 208. Masic, I. (2019). Plagiarism and how to avoid it. A guide to the scientific career: Virtues, communication, research and academic writing, 163–177. Maurer, H. A., Kappe, F., & Zaka, B. (2006). Plagiarism-A survey. Journal of Universal Computer Science, 12, 1050–1084. Mohammed, R. A. A., Shaaban, O. M., Mahran, D. G., Attellawy, H. N., Makhlof, A., & Albasri, A. (2015). Plagiarism in medical scientific research. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 10, 6–11. Neville, C. (2008). The challenge of referencing. Adviser, Learner Development Unit. University of Bradford. Neville, C. (2010). The complete guide to referencing and avoiding plagiarism. McGraw-Hill Education. Neville, C. (2012). Referencing: principles, practice and problems. RGUHS Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2, 1–8. Pappas, C. (2013). Top 10 free plagiarism detection tools for eLearning professionals. From https:// elearningindustry.com/top-10-free-plagiarism-detection-tools-for-teachers. Accessed May 15, 2020. Singh, S., & Remenyi, D. (2016). Plagiarism and ghostwriting: The rise in academic misconduct. South African Journal of Science, 112, 1–7.

Author Index

A Abedin, Shireen, 377 Abul Hossen, Md., 463 Abusaleh, Kazi, 15 Ahmad, Iftakhar, 263 Ahmmed, Faisal, 181, 323 Ahsan Ullah, A. K. M., 471 Akhter, Salma, 389 AL-Muaalemi, Mohammed Abdulmalek, 221 Ali, Isahaque, 167 Ali, Mumtaz, 43 Anwar, Akib Bin, 15 Azman, Azlinda, 167

B Baikady, Rajendra, 313

C Channaveer, R. M., 313 Chowdhury, Shofiqur Rahman, 181

H Haque, Md. Shahidul, 59 Hatta, Zulkarnain A., 167 Hei, Kuang Ching, 43 Hossain, Md. Ismail, 263 Hussein, Hazreena, 207 I Islam, M. Rezaul, 3, 291, 449 Islam, Md. Rafiqul, 117 Islam, Rabiul, 101 K Karim, Md. Rezaul, 131 Karupiah, Premalatha, 73 Khan, Kanamik Kani, 29 Khan, Niaz Ahmed, 279, 377

D David, Maya Khemlani, 43 Douglas, Heather, 415, 427

M Mahmud, Ashek, 83 Mahsin, Md., 235, 257 Mallick, Shahid, 167 Manzoor Rashid, A. Z. M., 279 Mehedi, Nafiul, 263 Mohsin Reza, Md., 29 Moniruzzaman Sarker, 221

F Farid, Shekh, 365

O Oakkas, Mohammad Ali, 181

G Golam Azam, Md., 347

Q Qi, Xianghui, 485

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 M. R. Islam et al. (eds.), Principles of Social Research Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2

507

508 R Rabiul Islam, Md., 157 Rahman, Syed Tanveer, 157

S Sankar, Lokasundari Vijaya, 405, 437 Sayeed Akhter, Md., 101 Sultana, Tahmina, 167

Author Index W wa Mungai, Ndungi, 337

Z Zabed, Hossain M., 485 Zaman, Farhana, 83