MAIN POINTS

As a method of data collection and analysis, qualitative research derives from the Verstehen tradition described in Chapter 1. Qualitative researchers attempt to understand behavior and institutions by getting to know well the persons involved, their values, rituals, symbols, beliefs, and emotions.

Field research is the central strategy of data collection associated with qualitative methodology; fieldwork is characterized by its location and by the manner in which it is conducted.

The goal of field research is to develop a theory that is "grounded," or close and directly relevant to the particular setting under study. Using the "grounded theory" approach, the researcher first develops conceptual categories from the data, and then makes new observations in order to clarify and elaborate these categories.

An alternative theoretical approach to field research is the method of analytic induction, in which analysis begins by generating a tentative hypothesis explaining the phenomenon observed, and then an attempt is made to verify the hypothesis by observing a small number of cases.

The method of data collection most closely associated with contemporary field research is participant observation: the process in which investigators attempt to attain some kind of membership in or close attachment to the group they wish to study. A complete participant role means that the observer is wholly concealed; the research objectives are unknown to the observed, and the researcher attempts to become a member of the group under observation. The complete participant role poses a number of methodological problems, and therefore, contemporary field workers most often assume the complete observer role, wherein the researcher's presence is known to the group under investigation; this role also differs from complete participation in that the research goal is explicitly identified.

Ethnography is a unique type of qualitative method that, while drawing on many strategies like participant observation, is designed to yield insights that other methods cannot. Perhaps most important, ethnography resists the urge to treat social phenomena as "things" in the world that exist and so should be studied; rather, it privileges the dynamic nature of social phenomena in relational and transactional terms.

The first step in doing qualitative research is to select a subject for investigation. Then the investigator must select an appropriate research site and obtain access. Once this is accomplished, the central aspect of fieldwork presents itself: establishing relationships with those under observation. Once relationships with members of the group have been established, the participant observer is regarded as a provisional member of the group. The social complexity of field research is not limited to gaining access and establishing relationships. Leaving the field is no less problematic; this stage depends upon the agreement reached between the observers and the observed at the entrance phase and on the kind of social relationships that developed during the research process.

In field research, the primary sources of data are what people say and do.

Data analysis in qualitative field research is an ongoing process; observers formulate hypotheses and note important themes throughout their studies. Once researchers have identified actions and statements that support their emerging hypotheses, their next step is to look for negative cases-instances that refute the hypotheses. When analyzing qualitative data, it is useful to look for certain regularities, or patterns, that emerge from the numerous observations made during the fieldwork stage. The culmination of the study is writing the report.

Data analysis can be enhanced by using computers. Software programs can speed up analysis and facilitate the coding process and also simplify the preparation of the final research report.

Kornblum's investigation of a South Chicago community is an excellent example of a field study employing participant observation as the main method of analysis.

Unlike other methods of social research, fieldwork is characterized by long term and intimate participation in the daily life of those being studied, and hence it is associated with a number of ethical, legal, and political dilemmas.

There are two kinds of ethical issues associated with fieldwork: the problem of potential deception and the impact the fieldwork may have on the lives of those under study.