FIELD RESEARCH
INTRODUCTION
The methods i.e. field research, ethnographic research and case studies are conducted in the field. In this sense, they share an interest in natural settings and firsthand information, but also a qualitative methodological approach. These methods are referred to as 'naturalistic research'. Social anthropologists and ethnologists started using these methods. Later they became popular among social researchers only.
1 FIELD RESEARCH
1.1 Introduction
Field research is the systematic study of ordinary events and activities as they occur in real-life situations. It is a naturalistic inquiry that takes place in the 'field', that is, in a natural setting that is not constructed for the purpose of conducting research. It is a quasi-longitudinal form of research, in that it takes a long time to complete. It is also highly flexible, as its design allows for changes as the research progresses.
Field research has the purpose of exploring real-life situations, behavior patterns and the reasons behind social interaction, and more particularly of seeing life through the eyes of, and from the perspective of, those living in the field. The most common methods employed by field researchers are systematic interactions and observations, and semi-.structured or structured interviews.
| Main criteria of field research Field research · is a systematic study of events and activities occurring in natural settings · is longitudinal, in that it is conducted over a long period of time · employs a flexible design, allowing for changes where required · aims to study real life situations and the factors that drive their course · attempts primarily to understand life through the eyes of the people · employs a variety of methods of data collection and analysis · may serve as a step to quantitative research, but is more often a separate study · employs a qualitative research model · is particularistic, when it studies aspects of social life · is holistic, when it studies entire cultures |
1.2 Types of field research
Several types of research are conducted in the field. Every study conducted under natural conditions is a field study, provided of course it is conducted in a particular way. At least two such types of field research will be addressed in this discussion. These are particularistic and holistic field research. They constitute the two extreme positions in the range of field research.
Particularistic field research: This type of field research focuses on social issues and situations, aiming to understand their structures, processes and outcomes as they occur and as displayed in the behaviour of those involved in the study. People's behaviour is viewed as their personal response to their immediate environment and not as a cultural expression. An example a researcher joins a school and studies whether female teachers are more/less gender-biased than male ones.
Holistic field research: This type of research focuses on cultures as whole entities, their structure and characteristics as well as in comparison with other cultures. It may focus on primitive cultures that have survived time and exist in some form in modern societies; alternately, it may look at modern cultures or subcultures and compare them with others. Its concern is with cultures as entities and not necessarily with their parts.
Mixed models: Particularly during the last thirty years, a successful attempt has been made to combine these two research models by expanding the particularistic type of research and including elements of the holistic model in its theory and design. Although in most cases the focus remains the same (i.e. aspects of social life), explanations are sought within a cultural context
For reasons of simplicity, in this text we present the particularistic type of field research under its commonly used name, namely field research, while for the holistic model we use the already established concept of ethnographic research.
1.3 Design of field research
In the quantitative model, it is relatively rigid and deterministic, while in a qualitative paradigm it is relatively open and flexible. Briefly, the basic steps of the field research design are given below.
Step 1: Topic and methodology
At this stage, the researcher will state which topic will be studied, and within which methodology it will be constructed and researched.
Step 2: Methodological definition of the topic
When quantitative methodology is employed, the topic will be clearly defined, reduced, and specified and operationalized to some degree. In qualitative research, such specifications will lie rather general and flexible.
Step 3: Sampling procedures
In quantitative research the sample will be determined precisely before the study commences. In qualitative research it may be less rigid and may be left partly open to be completed during the study.
Step 4: Data collection
In quantitative research data collection proceeds as given in the research design. In the qualitative model, data collection will be less predictive, based on openness and flexibility. Below are brief descriptions of what usually happens during this stage of research.
Entering the field: In qualitative research it is referred to as 'going native'. Important tasks to be completed at this stage of research are gaining entry and acceptance, establishing the research environment, and building up contacts and rapport. This is also called as rapport building.
Gathering data: Data collection begins with an exploration which might simply involve identification and description of issues related to the research subject, but may also entail analysis of some kind, as well as evaluation of the findings. Collection and analysis are conducted in a qualitative fashion; the task may, however, also include some quantitative procedures and computations.
Data collection mainly entails observation of the setting, people and behaviours. More specifically it may include observation of various aspects, ranging from surroundings and structures to household contents and colours, to temperatures and weather. The nature and type of the respondents, including age, ethnicity, gender, marital status, relationships and attitude to the research topic are some of the issues considered in the observation. In addition, data collection relates to content and context of speech and communication, including verbal communication, body language, and emotional expressions. Data collection may involve interviews and face-to-face interaction which result in a multiplicity of data. All in all, data collection results in rich information or thick description, all arranged in a manner that allows easy handling.
Taking notes: Observation, interaction and communication are constantly transformed into notes of some kind that arc systematically organized for future use. These notes refer to all the daily experiences of the researcher, some relating to observations, and others to encounters, conversations, ideas and impressions. Files are stored in folders either as hard copies on paper, or in electronic form.
Leaving the field: When data collection is complete field work is brought to an end. The researcher leaves the field, normally without breaking the relations with the members of the community abruptly, but rather after preparing the field for the departure and after assuring future cooperation and a promise to communicate the findings to the respondents.
When relations have been impersonal, exit from the field is easy; the researcher leaves as soon as the data collection is complete. In other cases gradual disengagement and leaving need to be planned thoughtfully and far in advance so that both the researcher and the subjects are at ease with this event.
Step 5: Data analysis
Depending on the paradigm, data analysis may commence during the collection of the data. This is the case in qualitative research of the flexible kind, where the analysis begins as researchers make sense of observations, relationships and settings, when they distribute notes to concept files, and when they decide how next to progress and what kind of choices to make to clarify events and processes. In other cases, analysis focuses on converting large amounts of notes to clear statements and conclusions. Here, data analysis begins with reading and processing notes and with filing them in a constructive manner.
| Field research: steps of data collection The experimenter; · Entering the field. 'Going native'. · Data gathering. Collecting data as required by the research model. · Taking notes. Recording/analyzing experiences in a systematic manner. · Disengaging. Gradually distancing oneself from the research setting. · Leaving the field. Departing smoothly and in a spirit of friendly gratitude. |
Step 6: Writing up
Although researchers adhere to the general standards of presentation applied in qualitative research when writing up field-research reports, they have much greater freedom in writing than is permitted to other qualitative researchers.
2 ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
2.1 Introduction
Literally, ethnography is the science of ethnos, that is, nation, people or culture. The specific definition of this discipline, as well as its name, varies significantly among social scientists in the various parts of the world. While some retain the name and definition as stated, others use the terms social anthropology, cultural anthropology or ethnology instead. And while some use these concepts interchangeably, others consider them to be separate disciplines. Beyond this, ethnography has been seen as the science of cultural description, a description and interpretation of a cultural or social group or system, the study of cultures with the purpose of understanding them from the native point of view.
In general, ethnography and ethnology were considered to be the areas of interest of anthropologists who were interested in relationships between people and the physical, socio-political, personal, cultural and historical aspects of their life. Ethnographic studies were thought to be the prerogative (privilege) of anthropologists, mainly because these workers were dealing with primitive cultures. However, with recent developments in the social sciences, and especially with the advent of feminism and women's studies, ethnographic research, particularly critical ethnography, has become rather popular
2.2 Criteria of ethnographic research
The main criteria of ethnographic research do not differ from those encountered in field research. However, there are some differences in their content and purpose, mainly generated by the nature, context and purpose of ethnographic research. As noted earlier, field research is generally considered to be paticularistic in its approach while ethnographic research is holistic, and ethnographic research is one form of field research. A brief summary of these and other basic criteria of ethnographic research is given in Box.
| Features of ethnographic research Ethnographic research: · Is a form of field research that studies cultures · Employs a holistic approach; it studies cultures and interprets life in a cultural context. · Is conducted in natural settings and entails a total 'sinking' in the field of study · Understands culture from within, and captures it as external to, and independent of, the researcher: in other words as a natural phenomenon. · Constructs culture through in-depth studies and the meanings of the participants · Aims at an analysis of life-worlds · Rejects positivist theory · Stresses subjectivity; terms such as 'subjective soaking' and 'subjectivist translation are common in this research model. |
2.3 Methodology in ethnographic research
Ethnographic research uses a number of methods, most of which are employed by other researchers in the context of different paradigms and methodologies. In technical terms it is not significantly different from field research. However, the approach and the way in which methods are employed are different.
The methods employed in ethnographic research are of two kinds, descriptive or critical. Critical ethnographic research is common in social sciences. It analyzes critically the interconnections between social practices and overarching macro-cultural principles. The purpose of this research depends on the paradigm that underlies the project. If the research employs a positivistic paradigm, the purpose of the ethnographic research may be to describe, explain and categorize social events, whereas if it is used in an interpretive paradigm it may aim at understanding the dynamics of a socio-cultural system as well as of how people interpret their world. In critical studies, ethnographic research aims to emancipate (liberate), empower and liberate people.
Ethnographers use field work of many kinds, for instance, personal participant observation, interviews, document analysis, filming and recording.
2.4 The research plan
Research design employed in ethnographic research is no different from that employed in field research. Only the nature and content of the individual steps vary, to serve the special interests of the research.
· Accessing a field setting (getting in): This is facilitated through contacts with 'gatekeepers' and informants or other persons who assist with this task. Entry to the settling can be overt or covert: researchers can enter the scene openly and officially, or anonymously, without members knowing their real identity.
· Becoming invisible: The guiding rules here are: do not expose identity, research plan or aim; interact and observe/record, but do not influence; ensure the safety of self, notes and subjects.
· Watching, listening and learning: Here the researcher observes/listens to the physical setting, the participants, relationships and preferences; locates subgroups; takes notes, films events, records communication; works with notes, coding etc.
· Disengaging (getting out): This implies exiting, dissolving relationships, emotional disengagement.
2.5 Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths:
· holistic perspective
· use of the socio-cultural context as the explaining source
· high degree of flexibility
· capacity to identify contradictions and inconsistencies
· high quality of the researcher—participant relationship
· closeness to the participants
· high external validity
· high sensitivity to subtle nuances of meaning and significance
· capacity for longitudinal study: studying issues over time
Weaknesses:
· inability to provide evidence supporting causality
· inability to ensure validity and reliability
· lack of replication
· inability to ensure objectivity
· no free access to the field, or to personal and subjective information that constitute the basis of the study
· difficulty with going native, which often affects studies and leads to problems
· interviewer effect that causes obvious distortions
· distortion of the natural setting by the very presence of the researcher
| How do ethnographic researchers ensure validity in their work? · By refraining from talking; they listen instead. · By producing exact and accurate notes. · By writing early and in a way that brings readers to the field. · By not forcing readers to accept the writer's view; they let them make their own inferences. · By producing notes that are as complete and as candid as possible. · By seeking feedback from the field and/or colleagues. · By constructing presentations that are balanced between the subjects. |
3 CASE STUDIES
3.1 Introduction
A case study is 'an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context when the boundaries between, phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used (Yin, 1991: 23). Case-study research involves individual cases, and studies over an extended period of time (Kromrey, 1986: 320). Case studies are not a method of data collection but a research model, and employ a number of methods of data collection and analysis in a variety of contexts (Bromley, 1986).
There are three different types of case study: the intrinsic, the instrumental and the collective case study.
An intrinsic case study is normally conducted for its own sake; in other words, to learn about this case only. There is no expectation that the results will be generalized to explain similar cases. An instrumental case study is used to inquire into a social issue or to refine a theory. The results have a wider application, beyond the study itself. A collective study includes a number of single studies investigated jointly for the purpose of inquiring into an issue, phenomenon, group or condition. It normally includes several instrumental studies.
| Basic criteria of case study research · It is conducted in natural settings. · It is suitable for pursuing depth analysis. · It studies whole units not aspects of units. · It entails a single case or a few cases only. · It studies typical cases. · It perceives respondents as experts, not as sources of data. · It employs many and diverse methods. · It employs several sources of information. |
Case studies are employed in both quantitative and qualitative research. In general, case studies are employed as pre-research, as the main study and as post-research. In quantitative research they are employed as pre-research, that is, as an exploratory study. In qualitative research they appear as main studies, as research enterprises of their own that aim to develop hypotheses or even theories. Case studies investigate social life within, the parameters of openness, communicativity, naturalism and interpretativity, as informed by the interpretive paradigm.
3.2 Research design
Step 1: Choosing topic and methodology
The first step towards conducting a case study analysis is the selection of the research topic and the case(s) to be studied. Here the focus of the study (the aspects of the case that will be considered) needs to be explained. Any aspect can be studied, provided that it can be addressed fully within the case
Step 2: Methodological construction of the topic
When quantitative research is employed, the topic will be refined and translated into variables and indicators, and its argument will he expressed in the form of hypotheses. When qualitative research is employed, this process will be less advanced and more open, and the definitions will effectively remain as originally constructed.
Step 3: Sampling procedures
Having determined what will be studied and how it will be addressed methodologically, the researcher will specify which case(s) will be included in the investigation. The options are to have one case (a single-case study) or more than one case (a multi-case study). Similarly, the approach can be holistic or embedded.
In qualitative research, when more than one case is studied, the research may begin with one case chosen on the basis of its suitability for the research; the first case is normally chosen as a typical case, that is, a typical example of a category of cases. Additional cases are chosen by means of snowball sampling, or other methods such as theoretical sampling. In this case, expansion of cases follows the principles of the emerging theory, and may include similar or different cases.
In other cases of qualitative research, sampling may be guided by typicality (choosing typical cases) and theory, but also by demand (contracted research), convenience, personal interest, accessibility or relevance to topical issues.
Step 4: Data collection
First of all, the procedure and methods of data collection have to be chosen. Putting it simply, how will the data be extracted from the case(s) chosen? Which method(s) will be considered? And, are these suitable and legitimate (i.e. compatible with the underlying paradigm)? These questions must be answered clearly and satisfactorily in this step of research. Following this, the researcher will take the steps described below:
a. Gaining access: This entails getting permission to investigate the case (where required), meeting the appropriate people and establishing contacts.
b. Data collection: Data collection proceeds according to the nature of the study and the underlying framework. In most cases employing a qualitative model, the researcher attempts to identify trends and tease out meanings, making sense of the situation under study. Pre-coding of data, exploring the site thoroughly, identifying and recording data, interpreting and reinterpreting, reflecting, revising and so on are the tools of the process that allows access to data.
c. Recording of data: This entails taking notes, filing, re-filing, revising, organizing and re-organizing; or simply recording data chronologically and preparing them for analysis when the study is complete. The latter is practiced, but not very popular.
d. Partial data analysis: A degree of analysis of recorded data is a part of the research process that is employed in all types of case studies. Even deciding which parts of interaction or observation to consider worth recording and filing, as well as how to categorize them and in which folders to store them implies an elementary level of analysis. In many cases this goes a few steps further, setting the parameters for the final stage of the analysis. Depending on the paradigm that guides the research, initial analysis during data collection varies from very low to very high. In a number of cases, analysis completed while collecting the data.
e. Disengagement: This step has more to do with maintaining positive relationships with the respondent(s) than with the quality of the data collected. Still a formal departure serves to announce the end of the study and to give an opportunity to the researcher(s) to express their appreciation for having been allowed to conduct the study.
Steps 5 and 6: Analysis, interpretation, reporting
The extent of analysis that is conducted at this stage depends very much on the paradigm that guides the research, and on the extent to which analysis was conducted during data collection. In general, some conclusions will be drawn and statements made regarding their overall significance for theory and research. Whereas single or few cases give a poor representation of a target population, and poor grounds for advancing grand generalization, a single case as a negative example is seen as being able to establish limits to grand generalization. Reports will be prepared as required for studies of their nature (see Chapter 17).
It is worth stressing the usefulness of the general research model introduced in Chapter 4. Whatever the research model, inquiry goes through the six steps of the model. Their content might vary, but the fact remains that they mark the path of the research process.
3.3 Data analysis
In case-study research, analysis may involve a number of methods that in essence attempt to address the initial propositions of the study. There are several techniques employed in case study analysis; the most common are listed below.
· Pattern-matching: This technique compares the empirically verified pattern with a pattern predicted at the outset of the study. It is argued that if predicted and observed patterns coincide the findings have strong internal validity.
· Explanation-building technique: In this technique explanation is based on a series of interactions, which proceed in the following manner. An initial statement or proposition is made about the study object; the Findings of the study are compared with this proposition, and if there is a discrepancy between proposition and findings, the proposition is revised according to the findings. The revised proposition is then compared with new findings and evidence; again, if discrepancies are recorded, the proposition is revised. The new revision is again compared with the findings for the third, fourth or fifth time, being revised each time as required. This process is repeated as often as necessary.
· Time-series analysis: In simple terms, in this technique trends over a certain period of time are compared with one theoretical proposition specified before the onset of the study, and with a rival proposition. This comparison indicates which proposition is correct.
· Making repeated observations: This technique directs the analysis towards repeating observations at various levels, that is, over time, across sites and across embedded units. Examples of this technique are observing subjects in spring and autumn, observing units embedded in Case A, Case B and Case C, and observing units in various locations. Comparisons between these observations are considered in the context of analysis of the subject matter.
· Case-study survey: here the survey is directed towards data that are already available, and it operates at a secondary level. This secondary analysis follows a strict procedure, such as development of a code book used for coding the material under consideration and studying the data on the basis of the codes and categories included in the book. The data resulting from this process are then analyzed according to the preferences of the researcher or the requirements of the study object and the theoretical proposition that underlies the study.
3.5 Strengths and weaknesses of case studies
Strengths
Case studies:
· allow in-depth research
· produce first-hand information, in that they work in natural settings
· employ methods that encourage familiarity and close contact with the informants
· allow the employment of a variety of interrelated methods and sources
· imply long term contacts and personal experiences in the field
· focus on direct and verifiable life experiences
· produce information that covers the whole unit and.not only small aspects of it
Weaknesses
· Results relate to the unit of analysis only and allow no inductive generalizations.
· Findings entail personal impressions and biases; hence no assurance of objectivity, validity and reliability.
· Research cannot be replicated.
· There is limited access to the field and to the personal and subjective information that constitutes the basis of case studies.
· The interviewer effect may cause distortions; even the presence of the researcher in the field can be destructive.
MAIN POINTS
· Field research is a form of inquiry that takes place in the field and explores real-life situations as they unfold.
· There are several types of field studies; for example, exploratory studies, descriptive studies and hypothesis-testing studies.
· In principle, field study designs are similar to the standard research design explained earlier in this volume, but are less complex and more flexible than quantitative designs.
· A case study is 'an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident, and where multiple sources of evidence are used (Yin, 1991:23).
· In qualitative research, case studies are often employed as the main form of inquiry.
· In quantitative research, case studies are employed as a prelude to the main study, as a form of pre-test, or as a post-research explanation of the study.
· A case-study protocol contains an overview of the case-study project, field procedures, case-study questions and a guide for preparing the report
· Ethnographic research originated in ethnography and social anthropology and is used in the social sciences in a number of areas, for example, by feminists.
· The main theoretical foundations of ethnographic research are culture, holism, in-depth studies and ethnology.
· The methods employed in ethnographic research are descriptive or critical; they are similar to those employed in other areas but ethnographic fieldwork and ethno-historic research are more characteristic of this type of investigation.
· The value of ethnographic research depends on the underling methodology being akin to positivistic and to critical research.
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