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The relationship between gender stereotypes and academic performance for rural eighth grade students: a mixed methods ethnographic case study.

Elizabeth Anne Royal Witte , University of South Carolina

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Educational Studies

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College of Education

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Rhonda Jeffries

Through this mixed methods ethnographic case study, the subject of gender stereotypes for middle school students, and its relationship to academic performance was investigated. Specifically, the research focused on Albert Bandura’s (1977) Social Learning Theory, gender stereotypes, and how educational institutions, peer relationships, and parental influences may dictate gender norms as they relate to academic success. It also attempted to evaluate the relationship between the issue of gender stereotypes and current experiences in a rural American middle school that led to the recurring issue of the educational gender gap and the underperformance of male students. The purpose of the study sought to examine how gender stereotypes develop for students at Small-town Middle School, to describe what specific factors have the strongest influence on how these students see themselves, and to examine the relationship between these stereotypes and academic success in school. Using a mixed methods survey design, the researcher gathered data from a cohort of eighth grade students in order to examine the formation and propagation of gender stereotypes that led to differing academic outcomes for male and female students.

© 2017, Elizabeth Anne Royal Witte

Recommended Citation

Witte, E. A.(2017). The Relationship between Gender Stereotypes and Academic Performance for Rural Eighth Grade Students: A Mixed Methods Ethnographic Case Study. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/4438

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Mixed Methods in Ethnographic Research: Historical Perspectives

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Mixed Methods in Ethnographic Research Historical Perspectives

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Mixed Methods in Ethnographic Research: Historical Perspectives captures the dynamic history and development of mixed methods research in a narrative of personal discovery, growth, and experience. Distinguished ethnographer and methodologist Pertti Pelto, who first called for the integration of qualitative and quantitative research methods nearly half a century ago, establishes a direct line between the earliest examples of ethnographic research and the ongoing mixed method discussions in academic institutions throughout the world. By bringing together such distinct historical perspectives with his own reflections on mixed methods research, Pelto offers a rare and endlessly enriching account that will satisfy the ever-growing need for a better quality of practical data gathering and give researchers a foundation for promoting mixed methods in the future.

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Pertti J. (Bert) Pelto , Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Connecticut, where he played a major role in developing the program in applied medical anthropology. He has also served as a consultant for many international health organizations, providing training in mixed methods ethnographic research for community-based applied projects. Best known for his groundbreaking book on research methods ( Anthropological Research: The Structure of Inquiry , 1970), Professor Pelto was recently (2016) honored by the Society for Applied Anthropology with the establishment of the biennial "Pertti Pelto International Travel Award," in recognition of his contributions to training in applied field research methods in international contexts.

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Prime architect of the methodology of employing mixed methods in ethnographic research, Pertti J Pelto, traces it's historical evolution globally. His personal narrative provides practical, experiential learnings for obtaining nuanced answers to complex research questions. Through decades of work with research networks and communities in India and other developing countries, Pelto succeeded in legitimizing the once suspect qualitative techniques. It is because of his untiring efforts that integrating qualitative with quantitative methods has become the norm today. Saroj Pachauri, MD, PhD, DPH, Distinguished Scholar, Population Council   Only Pertti Pelto could have written this history –a tour de force of erudition. The book makes clear that anthropology is and has always been about mixed methods, but social scientists of all stripes will find wonderful material here for teaching mixed methods. H. Russell Bernard, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Florida; Director of the Institute for Social Science Research, Arizona State University   In his latest book, Pertti Pelto takes us on a captivating, personal and historical tour of the use of mixed methods in social science research. His narrative style and stories from the from the field make this both a fun read and an important reference for students and researchers who want to gain a broader understanding of past and present developments in ethnographic research methods.   Patricia Hudelson, PhD, Anthropologue médicale, Consultation transculturelle et interprétariat, Département de médecine communautaire, de premier recours et des urgences, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève   In this immensely insightful, rich and readable ‘story’ of ethnographic research in the use of mixed methods, Professor Pelto reminds us how important is the historical perspective concerning research methods and strategies. In the absence of this clarity, social scientists and public health researchers are likely to polarize the discourse of qualitative versus quantitative methods and fail to take cognizance of various nuanced ways in which multi-method approaches enhance our knowledge creation. I can hardly overemphasize the timeliness of this book Ravi Verma, PhD, Regional Director, Asia, International Center for Research on Women   Mixed Methods Research captures a wide and throughout picture of ethnographical research methods. It brings interestingly together the historical development and Pelto’s personal reflections on interaction of qualitative and quantitative research methods. Pelto’s wide experience of ethnographical research makes this book is an enjoyable reading and important guide for students as well as professional scholars all over the world. This book answers to a growing need for a practical guide in data-gathering. Inker-Anni Linkola, Senior Officer, Sámi Archives, Sajos   Even in constructing his comprehensive and complex work on the application of mixed metholodologies, Pertti J. Pelto is a lively and engaging academic narrator, who succeeds to interpret deep issues and problems which have occupied generations of anthropologists.　He weaves into the discussion his intensive long-term personal knowledge and experiences in multiple disciplines in various cultural settings, from the Skolt Sami in northernmost Europe to rural communities in South Asia. Pelto provides researchers and other actors, such as non-governmental organizations, with insights, strategies, and tools to apply mixed methodologies to health and social issues or economic and ecological understanding in an easily accessible manner." Veli-Pekka Lehtola, Professor for Sámi cultural studies, Giellagas Institute, University of Oulu

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An Ethnographic Case Study Design

• First Online: 23 January 2020

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• Congjun Mu 2  

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This chapter justifies the selection of an ethnographic case study approach to investigate Chinese multilingual scholars’ experiences in writing for scholarly publication in English. Mixed methods—quantitative survey and qualitative semi-structured interviews—are used to elicit data exposing Chinese scholars’ attitude to the controversies discussed in the literature and their strategies to cope with the challenges they face in writing and publishing in English. An in-depth case analysis method with text-history analysis is introduced. The questionnaire design owes much to previous studies in ERPP research, a field that has developed rapidly in recent years and may continue to grow in the future. The procedures of semi-structured interviews and document collection are presented in detail in the interests of transparency, reliability, and validity of the research.

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Mu, C. (2020). An Ethnographic Case Study Design. In: Understanding Chinese Multilingual Scholars’ Experiences of Writing and Publishing in English. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33938-8_4

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33938-8_4

Published : 23 January 2020

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A scoping review of the use of ethnographic approaches in implementation research and recommendations for reporting

Alex k gertner.

1 Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

Joshua Franklin

2 Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Isabel Roth

3 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Program on Integrative Medicine, UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

Gracelyn H Cruden

4 Oregon Social Learning Center, Eugene, OR, USA

Amber D Haley

Erin p finley.

5 VA Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation & Policy, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Alison B Hamilton

6 Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Lawrence A Palinkas

7 Department of Children, Youth and Families, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Byron J Powell

8 Brown School and School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

Associated Data

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-irp-10.1177_2633489521992743 for A scoping review of the use of ethnographic approaches in implementation research and recommendations for reporting by Alex K Gertner, Joshua Franklin, Isabel Roth, Gracelyn H Cruden, Amber D Haley, Erin P Finley, Alison B Hamilton, Lawrence A Palinkas and Byron J Powell in Implementation Research and Practice

Background:

Researchers have argued for the value of ethnographic approaches to implementation science (IS). The contested meanings of ethnography pose challenges and possibilities to its use in IS. The goal of this study was to identify sources of commonality and variation, and to distill a set of recommendations for reporting ethnographic approaches in IS.

We included in our scoping review English-language academic journal articles meeting two criteria: (1) IS articles in the healthcare field and (2) articles that described their approach as ethnographic. In March 2019, we implemented our search criteria in four academic databases and one academic journal. Abstracts were screened for inclusion by at least two authors. We iteratively develop a codebook for full-text analysis and double-coded included articles. We summarized the findings and developed reporting recommendations through discussion.

Of the 210 articles whose abstracts were screened, 73 were included in full-text analysis. The number of articles increased in recent years. Ethnographic approaches were used within a wide variety of theoretical approaches and research designs. Articles primarily described using interviews and observational methods as part of their ethnographic approaches, though numerous other methods were also employed. The most cited rationales for using ethnographic approaches were to capture context-specific phenomena, understand insiders’ perspective, and study complex interactions. In reporting on ethnographic approaches, we recommend that researchers provide information on researcher training and position, reflect on researchers’ positionality, describe observational methods in detail, and report results from all the methods used.

Conclusion:

The number of IS studies using ethnography has increased in recent years. Ethnography holds great potential for contributing further to IS, particularly to studying implementation strategy mechanisms and understanding complex adaptive systems.

Plain language summary:

Researchers have proposed that ethnographic methods may be valuable to implementation research and practice. Ethnographic approaches have their roots in the field of anthropology, but they are now used in many fields. These approaches often involve a researcher spending time in “real-world” settings, conducting interviews and observation to understand a group of people. That said, researchers disagree on the meaning of ethnography, which presents a challenge to its use in implementation science (IS). We searched for articles in the field of IS that described their methods as ethnographic. We then reviewed the articles, looking for similarities and differences in how and why ethnographic approaches were used. Many of these articles said they used ethnographic methods because they were interested in issues like context, research participants’ views, and complex interactions. We found a large amount of variation in how ethnographic methods were used. We developed recommendations for describing ethnographic methods in a way that readers can clearly understand. We also made several observations of the value ethnographic approaches can bring to IS. Ethnographic methods may be especially useful to studying unplanned and unexpected changes that take place during implementation. These recommendations and observations could be helpful to implementation researchers wishing to use ethnographic methods.

The field of IS makes use of research methods and frameworks from various scholarly traditions ( Bauer et al., 2015 ; NIH Fogarty International Center, 2018 ). The field’s inclusive methodological ethos facilitates innovation and allows implementation researchers to draw on a diverse research toolset ( Bauer et al., 2015 ; Proctor et al., 2009 ). However, this methodological breadth can also present a challenge to the interpretation of research, particularly when there is a lack of agreement on common meanings and standards in the use of approaches ( Newhouse et al., 2013 ).

In recent years, researchers have argued for the value of ethnographic approaches in IS. Ethnography distinguishes itself from other approaches in health research by its deep engagement in a small number of cases to produce highly detailed data, its focus on human interaction in everyday environments to capture data outside of formal research processes, and its emphasis on building relationships with participants to access insiders’ perspectives, referred to as the “emic” viewpoint ( Reeves et al., 2008 ). These features are potentially well suited to delineating complex implementation processes, revealing contextual factors that affect implementation, and incorporating the perspectives of end-users in implementation, among other benefits ( Baumbusch et al., 2018 ; Bunce et al., 2014 ; Cohen et al., n.d .; Hamilton & Finley, 2020 ; Tumilowicz et al., 2015 ). Implementation researchers have also developed approaches based in ethnography for use in implementation research and practice. Palinkas and Zatzick (2019) developed a rapid approach to clinical ethnography that can be used to understand implementation processes and capture contextual details. Finley and colleagues (2018) proposed a process of periodic reflections based in ethnography for timely development of insights into implementation processes in dynamic contexts. Proposals for the use of ethnographic approaches have also been made more broadly in clinical and healthcare research ( Greenhalgh & Swinglehurst, 2011 ; Huby et al., 2007 ; Morgan-Trimmer & Wood, 2016 ; Savage, 2000 ).

Despite the potential value of ethnographic approaches to IS, differing ideas of what ethnography means present a challenge to their use. Because the meaning of ethnography can vary, it can be difficult to interpret what is meant by use of the terms “ethnography” or “ethnographic” in IS work, and thus to evaluate the rigor and reliability of the approach taken. Modern ethnographic approaches have their roots in anthropology, but what is meant by “ethnography” is contested across and within disciplines ( Agar, 2006 ; Brink & Edgecombe, 2003 ; Hammersley, 2018 ; O’Reilly, 2012 ). Ethnography may refer to a method, such as participant observation, or set of methods, sometimes including quantitative methods. However, it may also be understood as a process involving researcher reflexivity, an epistemological orientation emphasizing interlocutors’ perspectives, or a particular research product ( Agar, 2006 ; Clifford & Marcus, 1986 ; Hammersley, 2018 ; O’Reilly, 2012 ).

Given the diverse notions of ethnography, implementation researchers may employ ethnography in different ways. The objective of this scoping review is to examine the uses of ethnography in implementation research. The goal of this study was to identify sources of commonality and variation and distill a set of recommendations for reporting ethnographic approaches in IS.

Our research team included scholars with expertise in ethnographic methods and IS, including four trained anthropologists (EPF, JF, ABH, LAP). We chose to undertake a scoping review because of the exploratory nature of our research question. We did not seek to assess the quality of studies, as is typically done in systematic reviews. We followed the approach to scoping reviews delineated by Levac and colleagues (2010) . Our primary research questions were as follows: how are ethnographic approaches used in IS, why are they used, and what constitutes ethnographic approaches? In examining what constituted ethnographic approaches, we principally considered what methods were described and how they were used.

Search criteria

We included English-language academic journal articles meeting two criteria: (1) IS articles in the healthcare field and (2) articles that described their approach as ethnographic. For the purposes of conducting searches, we operationalized the first criteria as articles containing the phrases “implementation science,” “implementation research,” “knowledge translation,” or “knowledge to action.” We operationalized the second criteria as articles including variants on “ethnography” (search term: “ethnograph*”) in the title or abstract. In March 2019, we implemented our search criteria in four academic databases: MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE, and ProQuest Health Management. We also conducted a search in the journal Implementation Science for articles that included the term “ethnograph*” anywhere in the article.

Abstract review

Our search produced 210 unique records. Three co-authors (JF, AKG, ADH) screened the abstracts to ensure that they fit our criteria of IS articles in the healthcare field that described their approaches as ethnographic. At this stage, we used Eccles and Mittman’s (2006) definition of implementation research: “the scientific study of methods to promote the systematic uptake of research findings and other evidence-based practices into routine practice” (p. 1). We did not require that articles make explicit reference to the IS field to be considered as implementation research.

We included all articles that described their approach as ethnographic but excluded meta-ethnographies (a method of synthesizing qualitative evidence from multiple studies). We included study protocols in our review. Two co-authors screened every abstract. If there was disagreement between the two co-authors, a third co-author broke the tie. We excluded 92 articles that did not describe their approach as ethnographic, 40 articles that were not considered implementation research, and 5 articles that were not health-related. The excluded articles referenced ethnography and IS, which is why they were captured in our search, but these articles did not characterize their own approaches as ethnographic or did not report on implementation research. After abstract review, 73 unique articles remained for full-text review, of which 21 articles were study protocols (see Appendix 1).

Full text analysis

The 73 included articles were published between 2004 and 2019, with 52 (71%) articles published since 2014. The articles were published across 31 academic journals. The most common journals were Implementation Science, BMC Health Services Research , and Social Science & Medicine .

We iteratively developed a codebook using inductively and deductively developed codes. To understand how ethnographic approaches were used in IS, we coded several article characteristics including characteristics of study design, study objectives, outcome types, and theory, model, or framework (TMF) used ( Nilsen, 2015 ). We coded outcome types as implementation outcomes, service outcomes, and client outcomes following Proctor and colleagues (2011) . We developed a simple schema for characterizing articles’ objectives: (1) developing tools for implementation research; (2) assessing implementation determinants (e.g., context, barriers, and facilitators); and (3) evaluating implementation strategies. Articles could be classified as having more than one of these objectives.

To understand why ethnographic approaches were used, we coded articles’ rationales for use of these approaches. We only coded explicit explanations of why ethnographic approaches were used to minimize subjective inferences. To understand what constituted ethnographic approaches, we documented what methods were used and the descriptions of these methods.

Four co-authors (GHC, JF, AKG, IR) coded the same six articles, iteratively revising codes until there was agreement on coding. The final codes were reviewed by the entire study team. These four co-authors then alternatively paired to double-code each article. Coding pairs first independently coded each article and resolved discrepancies by consensus. Any codes that could not be aligned by paired consensus were resolved by the additional coders. Coders also kept unstructured memos noting observations of interest that were not captured by codes. As such, memos did not produce quantitative results but observations on notable practices and distinctions. After coding, the results were summarized and reviewed by the study team to draw out key insights. Based on these results and reviews of existing recommendations for reporting on the qualitative methods, the study team developed recommendations for clear reporting on ethnographic approaches in IS ( Tong et al., 2007 ).

How are ethnographic approaches used in IS?

To understand how ethnography is deployed in IS, we documented the characteristics of IS articles that used ethnographic approaches. Of the 73 articles included, 32 (44%) articles did not report using a specific TMF ( Table 1 ). The remaining articles cited 27 distinct TMFs, with some using multiple approaches. Prominent IS frameworks were the most frequently employed. The most cited TMFs were the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR; Damschroder et al., 2009 ); Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARiHS; Kitson et al., 2008 ); Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM; Glasgow et al., 1999 ); and Diffusion of Innovations ( Rogers, 2003 ).

Characteristics of articles using ethnographic methods in IS.

IS: implementation science; CFIR: Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research; PARiHS: Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services; RE-AIM: Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance.

When it came to articles’ objectives, 64 (88%) articles were focused on assessing the determinants of implementation. Some of these articles aimed to better understand contexts in which implementation efforts could take place without seeking to assess a specific intervention. For instance, Charani and colleagues (2017) used observations and interviews to understand how surgical teams made decisions about antibiotic use. Twenty (27%) articles evaluated implementation strategies, nearly all using multi- or mixed-methods approaches. Sax and colleagues (2013) described a protocol for a mixed-methods evaluation of a “work package” of interventions to improve infection control in intensive care units. Eleven (15%) articles developed tools for implementation research. Some of these developed novel methods, as the previously discussed examples led by Palinkas and Zatzick (2019) and Finley and colleagues (2018) . Other articles used ethnographic approaches to elaborate theoretical approaches. For example, Jenkins and colleagues (2016) used an approach involving site visits, meetings, and written communication to develop a framework for guiding community-based knowledge translation. Bardosh (2018) used three rapid ethnographic studies to inductively develop a framework for assessing the effectiveness of interventions aimed at neglected tropical diseases.

Seventy-two (99%) articles included implementation outcomes. Many of these sought to identify barriers and facilitators to implementation of interventions in specific contexts. Some articles identified specific implementation outcomes of interest to them. In their study of an innovation to improve dysphagia care, which employed a mixed-methods approach that included use of an “ethnographic field journal,” Ilott and colleagues (2013) clearly identified “adoption and adaptation” as their primary outcomes of interest. Other articles framed their objectives in terms of capturing a particular point of view or aspect of practice. Dainty and colleagues (2016) used interviews and observation to describe the implementation of a post-cardiac arrest consult team “from the participant perspective.” Boaz and colleagues (2016) examined the roles of patients across several quality improvement projects using interviews, observations, reflective diaries, and document analysis ( Boaz et al., 2016 ). Fifteen (21%) articles included service outcomes. Jacobsen and colleagues (2017) used survey instruments to track person-centeredness of care in nursing homes before and after an educational initiative. Fifteen (21%) articles included client outcomes. Mumtaz and colleagues (2016) described a protocol for evaluating the quality of maternal health services that included interviewing women about their care experiences.

Forty-three articles (59%) reported on multi- or mixed-methods research with 10 (14%) of these reporting on hybrid implementation-effectiveness studies ( Anguera et al., 2018 ; Curran et al., 2012 ). In memos, coders noted that these studies at times employed ethnographic approaches sequentially and at times concurrently with quantitative methods. Some articles reported qualitative and quantitative findings together, while others referenced quantitative findings published separately. Dorsey and colleagues (2015) used a “rapid ethnographic assessment approach” to inform measurements in a subsequent randomized controlled trial of a psychosocial intervention. Clarke and colleagues (2013) drew upon interviews, observations, and document review for process evaluation of a stroke care training intervention. Both articles reported on results of ethnographic approaches separately from quantitative trial results.

Sixty-two (85%) articles described studies in healthcare settings and 22 (30%) in other settings, including homes, places of worship, and social service offices. Sixty-six (90%) articles included clinical providers as participants. Of these, 55 (75%) also included other types of participants, most often administrators and non-clinical staff. Thirty (41%) articles involved patients or their families. In memos, coders noted that articles generally presented settings and participants as planned prior to data collection. By contrast, Shaw and colleagues (2017) described beginning their study of transitional care in a hospital but then following patients into other settings, including patients’ homes, as the study progressed.

Why are ethnographic approaches used?

Thirteen (18%) articles did not provide an explicit rationale for the use of ethnographic approaches ( Table 2 ). For the remaining articles, we grouped rationales for ethnographic approaches into six inductively developed categories, which reflected authors’ stated intent to understand context-specific phenomena (52 articles, 71%); clarify emic (insiders’) perspectives (31 articles, 42%); study complex interactions (28 articles, 38%); examine sociocultural factors (21 articles, 29%); strengthen reliability of findings through use of triangulation (16 articles, 22%); and integrate theoretical models or frameworks (7 articles, 9.6%).

Description of ethnographic methods in IS.

IS: implementation science.

Several studies drew on more than one of these rationales. Bunce and colleagues (2014) discussed the value of an ethnographic approach for process evaluation as “placing the intervention in its historical and social context, ‘being there’ to document the process as it unfolds and as interpreted by its participants” (p. 2). In their study of knowledge translation strategies to improve spinal care, Webster and colleagues (2014) explained that, through an ethnographic approach, “the cultural norms, local context and specific needs of various professionals can be explicated when building an account of how policymakers, clinicians, and hospital administrators interact” (p. 2). Dixon-Woods and colleagues (2012) succinctly explained multiple rationales for their ethnographic approach to studying a patient safety program in British hospitals:

Ethnography enables detailed, contextualized descriptions of behavior and of how people make sense of the situations in which they live and work and, consequently, why their own actions make sense (Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007). Ethnography is an especially useful approach to studying patient safety, as it provides an opportunity to observe firsthand how events are classified and communicated in particular ways, as well as the social, cultural, and organizational influences on such classificatory work ( Bosk, 2003 ; Waring, 2009 ). In particular, ethnography enables insights into how professionals in health care settings account for patient safety issues ( Bosk, 2003 ) in ways that other methods may not detect. (p. 554–555)

Several studies applied ethnographic approaches to reveal processes by which implementation strategies worked or failed to work at specific sites. These studies emphasized the value of ethnography for the study of context and complex systems. Drew and colleagues (2019) used an ethnographic approach to understand divergences in client and implementation outcomes across different hospitals as part of an initiative improve hip and knee replacement surgery in the United Kingdom. McCullough and colleagues (2015) used semi-structured interviews and observations to understand how contextual factors affected differential uptake of evidence-based anticoagulation practices across clinics in a network.

Some studies used ethnographic approaches to mobilize, legitimize, or formalize experiences of researchers and practitioners working in implementation efforts. These studies emphasized the value of ethnography for the study of complex systems and emic perspectives. Reflecting on their role as applied anthropologists working in a program to provide mental health crisis services in New York City, Pope and colleagues (2016) argued that “ethnographically based qualitative research might be used to convert the ‘noise’ of actual implementation process into information with instructive power ( Hohmann & Shear, 2002 ; Rapkin & Trickett, 2005 )” (p. 508). English and colleagues (2011) made a similar proposal as they drew on their own experiences to reflect on why an implementation strategy to improve pediatric hospital services in Kenya produced variable effects. Finley and colleagues (2018) formalized this potential of ethnographic approaches to provide knowledge and insights on implementation efforts as they unfold by developing a procedure for guided discussion.

What constitutes ethnographic approaches?

Articles generally described using a distinct set of methods that constituted their ethnographic approaches, primarily interviews and observation. However, we noted substantial diversity in how methods were described. In particular, the meaning of “ethnographic” was not always articulated.

Sixty-eight (93%) articles used interviews as a part of their methods ( Table 2 ). Forty-five (62%) articles described interviews as semi-structured, four (5.5%) as structured, and one (1.3%) as unstructured. Sixteen (22%) articles described interviews as formal and 14 (19%) as informal. Eleven (15%) articles described using conversations as part of their methods. Seventeen (23%) articles used interviews without describing the type of interview conducted.

In memos, coders noted variation in the level of detail with which articles described interviews or explained how interviews contributed to an ethnographic approach. Sobo and colleagues (2008) used semi-structured interviews as a part of their “focused ethnographic assessment” of an HIV testing intervention for US veterans. They explicitly described what was meant by their “ethnographic” interview approach:

Interviewers adopted techniques designed to elicit information that interviewees themselves deemed important and to expose understandings existing below any official discourse ( Campbell & Gregor, 2004 ). For example, interviewers adopted an “interested listener” rather than a dictatorial role ( Quinn, 2005 , p. 41). They sought to avoid collusive conversational turn-taking and gapfilling in which implicit meanings are assumed to be shared ( Campbell & Gregor, 2004 ). (p. 445)

Sixty-two (85%) articles described using observation as part of their methods. Of these, 20 (27%) described observation as participant, 20 (27%) as non-participant, and 24 (33%) did not specify. As with interviews, coders noted in memos variation in the level of detail with which observational methods were described. In several articles, the only mention of an ethnographic approach was to describe the use of “ethnographic observations” without elaborating on what this meant. By contrast, Latif and colleagues specified the constructs and variables researchers attempted to document through observations in their study of an intervention to improve patient adherence across pharmacies in England. They also provided an explanation of how observation contributed to their ethnographic approach: “Through first-hand observation and direct engagement, organizational ethnography offered an in-depth or ‘thick’ description of the social, through which analysis of the social-cultural and organizing context was possible” (p. 969).

Many articles described use of fieldnotes in conjunction with observation. In all, 60 (82%) articles described using fieldnotes. Some articles merely noted that fieldnotes were used, while others described the contents of fieldnotes and how they were used. In a protocol for the study of the implementation of a federal Canadian mental health strategy, Park and colleagues (2015) described how trained observers would keep fieldnotes of events such as team meetings that would capture contextual factors and personal interactions. They also described how observers and other research team members would reflect on fieldnotes as part of their planned data analysis.

A variety of other methods were also used as part of ethnographic approaches. Forty-three (59%) articles described analyzing documents as part of their methods. These primarily involved reviewing existing documents from study sites, such as written communications and protocols. Twenty-five (34%) studies used focus groups. Other methods were used less frequently. Zobrist and colleagues (2017) used cognitive mapping in their study of young child feeding interventions in Senegal. Patel and colleagues (2014) described a plan to use video ethnography in their study protocol for an initiative to improve cardiovascular risk management in primary care clinics.

Articles generally provided little information on researchers’ training and positionality (role and social position in relation to participants) as part ethnographic approaches. Forty (55%) articles did not provide any description of the researchers involved in ethnographic data collection. Only 12 (16%) of articles mentioned researchers’ training in use of ethnographic methods and relationship to the study’s setting. When descriptions were provided, they were often minimal. By contrast, Dlamini-Simelane and Moyer (2017) detailed Dlamini-Simelane’s participation as an HIV counselor as part of data collection for their study of nurse-led HIV treatment in Swaziland, reflecting on the insights that could be gained in this role.

There was lack of clarity in how long researchers were engaged in data collection. Fifty-six (77%) articles provided some information on study duration. However, there was substantial variation in how duration was reported. Some studies reported the start and end dates of data collection, while others reported number of site visits or hours of observations performed. Of the studies reporting on length of data collection, the shortest period was 2 weeks and the longest was 5 years ( Bunce et al., 2014 ; Dorsey et al., 2015 ).

Coders noted in memos that studies primarily described results from interviews, less often describing results from observational methods, such as descriptions of settings or events. Coders also noted that studies often described results without referencing larger sociohistorical context or reflecting on the positionality of researcher regarding the research subject, in contrast to how ethnographic results are often presented in social science fields. One exception was Dixon-Woods and colleagues’ (2012) study of a program to reduce catheter-related infections in British hospitals. These researchers provided detailed descriptions of how staff responded to the program, placing these reactions within historical context of the British healthcare system.

With regard to analyzing study results, 64 (88%) articles used some form of data coding to identify themes, at times using formal named approaches (e.g., qualitative content analysis, framework analysis, matrix analysis) and at times describing more ad hoc approaches (i.e., developing themes through reading and discussion without a specific or formal process). Studies that did not use data coding either did not explicitly describe an analytic approach or drew on other approaches to the analysis of ethnographic data. In their study of how nurses use research in a pediatric critical care unit, Scott and colleagues employed Fetterman’s two-phase approach to ethnographic analysis involving “making order of data” followed by interpretation ( Fetterman, 1998 ; Scott et al., 2008 ).

Our findings suggest that ethnographic approaches are well-accepted in IS. The number of implementation research articles reporting use of ethnographic approaches has increased substantially in recent years, with many articles published in prominent journals. In addition, the use of ethnographic approaches appears compatible with a wide array of TMFs in IS. Ethnographic approaches can be deployed in a variety of mixed and multi-methods designs, including as a part of hybrid implementation-effectiveness studies.

We found that interviews and observations were the most frequently used methods in the articles we reviewed. However, we noted substantial variation in the detail with which these approaches were described. In some studies, the only mention of ethnography was to describe observations as “ethnographic.” This finding suggests “ethnography” is at times used to legitimize observational methods in IS. We also found a few articles reported using informal interviews and conversations. Such informal interactions could reveal valuable insights that are not as easily appreciated in formal interviews.

Ethnographic approaches were primarily used to assess implementation outcomes in healthcare settings. A minority of articles reported data collection with patients or in community settings. This finding is not surprising given that implementation efforts are typically aimed at clinical professionals. That said, ethnographic approaches are well suited for multisite research and capturing perspectives from diverse actors. Ethnographic approaches also allow for incorporation of new sites and participants as studies progress. These may represent underutilized possibilities of ethnographic approaches in IS.

The leading reasons given for using ethnographic approaches among the included articles were studying context-specific phenomena, capturing emic perspectives, and studying complex interactions. These rationales are consistent with proposals for the use of ethnographic methods in healthcare research ( Huby et al., 2007 ; Savage, 2000 ). In particular, we noted that ethnographic approaches were used to detail implementation processes and formalize the experience of individuals involved in implementation as research results.

The rationales for use of ethnographic approaches in IS suggest that collaborative approaches to ethnography may be especially valuable for studying adaptations to interventions and implementation strategies ( Stirman et al., 2019 ), “mechanisms” by which implementation strategies succeed or fail ( Lewis et al., 2018 , 2020 ; Powell et al., 2019 ; Zuckerman et al., 2017 ), and complex adaptive systems ( Braithwaite et al., 2018 ; Reed et al., 2018 ). The iterative nature of ethnography makes it well-suited to investigating emergent phenomena that are a feature of such systems, especially as interventions and strategies interact with contextual factors.

An additional possible contribution of ethnography to implementation is increased reflexivity and awareness of positionality ( Barry et al., 1999 ; Bikker et al., 2017 ). There is growing recognition in academic healthcare for the ways systems of oppression (e.g., racism, sexism, and colonialism) operate within and through healthcare institutions ( Evans et al., 2020 ; Horton, 2019 ; National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine, 2018 ). Especially, given that underrepresented minorities are often excluded from academic positions, researchers must critically address their positionality in relation to systems of oppression when conducting research ( Association of American Medical Colleges, 2019 ; Blackstock, 2020 ; McKay, 2018 ; Sufrin, 2015 ).

Some scholars have argued that research is only “ethnographic” if it employs a particular theoretical orientation, not merely a distinct set of methods ( Jowsey, 2016 ; Lambert, 2002 ; Waring & Jones, 2016 ). In conducting this review, we did not seek to reconcile tensions between traditional ethnographic approaches and more structured or abbreviated approaches used in health fields. Rather, our intention was to promote clear communication and thoughtful application of ethnographic methods, so that such tensions may be productive sources of critique and innovation, rather than merely sites of discord or misjudgment. Toward that end, we developed reporting recommendations.

Recommendations for reporting

Rather than develop criteria for reporting on ethnographic methods de novo, we sought to build on existing recommendations. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) is a checklist intended to improve reporting of qualitative research in health sciences ( Tong et al., 2007 ). It is the most cited of the EQUATOR Network’s key reporting guidelines for qualitative research ( Centre for Statistics in Medicine, n.d .). COREQ consists of 32 items separated into three domains: (1) research team and reflexivity, (2) study design, and (3) analysis and findings. Our study team agreed that these criteria were useful for the reporting on ethnographic methods. However, we noted several areas where additional information and emphasis could improve clarity in reporting ( Table 3 ).

Recommendation for reporting on ethnographic approaches in implementation research.

COREQ: Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research.

Domain 1: research team and reflexivity

COREQ’s first domain includes criteria on researcher credentials (Item 2), occupation (Item 3), gender (Item 4), experience and training (Item 5), and relationship with participants (Items 6–8). Reflecting on researchers’ characteristics and relationship to studies can add substantially to ethnographic approaches ( Barry et al., 1999 ; Bikker et al., 2017 ). As Dixon-Woods (2003) has argued, “researchers are required to be reflexive—that is, to reflect on and be able to give an account of how they produced their interpretations—and to be able to show that their interpretation is warranted by the data” (p. 326). Information on researchers’ training can improve readers’ confidence in the execution of methods. Explanations of researchers’ positionality can improve readers’ understandings of how studies were conducted and what insights were available to researchers.

We found that a few articles in our review included information on researchers’ training and relationship to study sites and participants. We recommend that articles delineate researchers’ training and experience in ethnographic methods, including any training provided for completion of the study. We also recommend providing detailed information on researchers’ relationship to the study site and participants, which may go beyond the items explicitly listed in COREQ. Discussing researchers’ social position and characteristics in relation to study sites and participants may be relevant depending on the study’s context and aims.

In the IS field, clarifying how researchers were perceived by participants and their existing roles in organizations is especially important. Implementation efforts may be perceived as burdensome top-down initiatives by some staff. In these situations, staff may withhold their honest views if they perceive researchers as surveillance agents for organizational leadership. Researchers can contextualize these dynamics by clarifying their position within organizations and explicating their relationship with participants. Delineating any strategies that were used to gain participants’ trust is recommended.

Domain 2: study design

COREQ’s second domain includes criteria on methodological orientation and theory (Item 9), participant selection (Items 10–13), setting (Items 14–16), and data collection (Items 17–23). In our review, we found substantial diversity in articles’ study designs, with many using mixed- or multi-method designs. This diversity makes comprehensive reporting of study designs crucial.

Beyond the existing items in COREQ’s Domain 2, we recommend that researchers explain why an ethnographic approach is appropriate for their research question, clarifying what they mean by “ethnographic” and, if relevant, the relationship between their theoretical approach and their use of ethnographic methods. If appropriate, we recommend that researchers consider applying and referencing approaches to focused or rapid ethnography when planning and reporting studies ( Higginbottom et al., 2013 ; Knoblauch, 2005 ; Palinkas & Zatzick, 2019 ; Wall, 2015 ). Such approaches often provide clear guidelines for their use and are typically understood to be distinct from conventional ethnography, which may help avoid ambiguity ( Knoblauch, 2005 ; Wall, 2015 ).

Given the contested meanings of ethnography, we recommend that researchers consider whether referencing ethnography adds or detracts from understanding their approaches. We propose that the invocation of ethnography merely to justify the use of observation in methods is unnecessary. Describing observational methods as ethnographic is rarely clarifying, given the breadth of meanings associated with ethnography that we observed. Rather, researchers may focus on detailing how observational methods were employed, by whom, and what their goals were. Similarly, researchers merely seeking to convey that their studies were conducted in “real world” settings or during routine activities may describe their work as in situ rather than as ethnographic.

Ethnographic approaches often involve informal interactions in mundane activities that can be difficult to convey in a formal description of methods. Clifford Geertz (1998) famously theorized ethnographic work as “deep hanging out.” Few articles in our review conveyed such unstructured immersive approaches, possibly because they were not used or because researchers were concerned that these would not be perceived as rigorous. We encourage researchers to describe informal, unstructured, and unplanned interactions that contributed meaningfully to data collection and provide important insights. Phenomenological approaches may prove useful to implementation researchers who wish to engage with such unplanned or unstructured research experiences ( Cohen et al., n.d .; van Manen, 2016 ).

An advantage of ethnographic approaches is that they are commonly iterative. Study settings and participants can evolve as researchers gain knowledge and insights ( Agar, 2006 ). We recommend that researchers explicitly delineate how their planned approaches evolved over the course of the study and why. Such descriptions can provide valuable information for readers. Clear descriptions of such iterative approaches may also contribute to evolving ethnographic methodologies and study designs in IS.

Domain 3: analysis and findings

COREQ’s Domain 3 includes criteria related to data analysis (Items 24–28) and reporting (Items 29–32). COREQ presumes that researchers will use some approach to data coding leading to theme derivation in analyses. While ethnographic analyses do generally involve identification of themes, they may not involve explicit data coding ( Agar, 2006 ). Regardless of how themes are derived, we recommend that researchers’ reflexivity be explicitly considered in analyses, given its central importance to ethnographic approaches ( Barry et al., 1999 ; Bikker et al., 2017 ). We similarly suggest that researchers present results within their sociohistorical context if it will improve the understanding of their findings.

Given the diversity of study designs within which ethnographic approaches are used in IS, differing approaches to presenting results are to be expected. COREQ emphasizes the importance of presenting quotations in results (Item 29). We additionally recommend that researchers present results from all methods used as a part of ethnographic approaches, including observational methods. Doing so may include descriptions of settings or events that were noteworthy. Use of digital media, including audio, photographs, and video, may also be used to convey researchers’ observations ( Underberg & Zorn, 2013 ).

Researchers seeking to follow our recommendations may encounter structural barriers from journals in the form of word limits or formatting requirements. Notably, sociology and anthropology journals, where ethnographic research has traditionally been published, have word limits in the range of 9,000–15,000, rather than 2,000–4,000 that is typical of health journals, and do not dictate the article structure. We encourage health journal editors to allow longer article lengths for qualitative and mixed-methods work. Editors may consider allowing longer versions of methods and results for online publication with abbreviated print versions.

In some instances, our recommendations may suggest a blurring of traditional article structures and headings. Researchers may need to preview results if they describe how methods iteratively evolved or preview discussion topics if they present their results within a sociohistorical context. We encourage researchers and editors to be open to flexible presentations of studies if these convey more faithfully iterative, recursive, and reflexive approaches. We recognize that article length and structure guidelines are unlikely to change in the near term. We encourage researchers to seek creative ways in which to communicate their ethnographic and mixed-methods approaches within existing parameters. This may include using supplemental materials sections or publishing separate study protocols that provide additional methodological detail.

Limitations

As a scoping review, our study provides an exploratory rather than a comprehensive view of ethnography in IS. Our analyses are likely influenced by our disciplinary backgrounds, though we sought to recruit a multidisciplinary team and critically challenge our implicit notions through iterative coding and discussions. Our recommendations are aimed at improving clarity and comprehension in communicating ethnographic approaches, but we did not make suggestions for what ethnography is or how it should be done in IS.

Ethnographic approaches to IS may allow researchers to gain insights that would not be available through other methods, particularly on the interactions between implementation processes and context as well as insiders’ views of implementations efforts. Comprehensive and harmonized reporting approaches could improve the understanding of ethnographic approaches, enhancing its value in IS.

Supplemental Material

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: A.K.G. was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under award number F30DA044668. B.J.P. was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health under award number K01MH113806. A.B.H. and E.P.F. were supported by the VA Quality Enhancement Research Initiative under award numbers QUE 15-272 and QUE 20-028. I.R.’s contribution to this article was partially supported by a T32 Fellowship from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (5T32AT00378). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Supplemental material: Supplemental material for this article is available online.

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Research Guides

Ethnographic Case Studies

Jeannette Armstrong; Laura Boyle; Lindsay Herron; Brandon Locke; and Leslie Smith

Description

This research guide discusses ethnographic case study. While there is much debate over what, precisely, delimits a case study , the general consensus seems to be that ethnographic case studies differ from other types of case studies primarily in their focus, methodology, and duration. In essence, ethnographic case studies are case studies “employing ethnographic methods and focused on building arguments about cultural, group, or community formation or examining other sociocultural phenomena” (Schwandt & Gates, 2018, p. 344), typically with a long duration, per the demands of ethnographic work. In essence, ethnographic case studies are case studies “employing ethnographic methods and focused on building arguments about cultural, group, or community formation or examining other sociocultural phenomena” (Schwandt & Gates, 2018, p. 344), typically with a long duration, per the demands of ethnographic work. Indeed, in its very situatedness, ethnography has a “case study character” and is “intimately related” to case studies (Ó Rian, 2009, p. 291); though there is currently a move to extract ethnographic work from overly situated contexts and use extended case methods, “[e]thnographic research has long been synonymous with case studies, typically conceived of as grounded in the local and situated in specific, well-defined and self-contained social contexts” (Ó Rian, 2009, p. 290). Because ethnography, in practice, is often a kind of case study, it’s useful to consider ethnography and case studies each in their own right for a fuller picture of what ethnographic case study entails.

Ethnographic research is one approach under the larger umbrella of qualitative research. Methodologically, it is, “a theoretical, ethical, political, and at times moral orientation to research, which guides the decisions one makes, including choices about research methods” (Harrison, 2014, p. 225), that is at its crux “based upon sharing the time and space of those who one is studying” (Ó Rian, 2009, p. 291)–a situated, nuanced exploration seeking a thick description and drawing on methods such as observation and field notes. According to …an ethnography focuses on an entire culture-sharing group and attempts to develop a complex, complete description of the culture of the group. Creswell and Poth (2018), an ethnography focuses on an entire culture-sharing group and attempts to develop a complex, complete description of the culture of the group. In doing so, ethnographers look for patterns of behavior such as rituals or social behaviors, as well as how their ideas and beliefs are expressed through language, material activities, and actions (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Yin (2016)  suggests that ethnographies seek “to promote embedded research that fuses close-up observation, rigorous theory, and social critique. [Ethnographies foster] work that pays equal attention to the minutiae of experience, the cultural texture of social relations, and to the remote structural forces and power vectors that bear on them” (p. 69).

Case study research, meanwhile, is characterized as an approach “that facilitates exploration of a phenomenon within its context using a variety of data sources” (Baxter & Jack, 2008, p. 544). The aim of case studies is precise description of reconstruction of cases (Flick, 2015). The philosophical background is a qualitative, constructivist paradigm based on the claim that reality is socially constructed and can best be understood by exploring the tacit, i.e., experience-based, knowledge of individuals. There is some debate about how to define a The philosophical background is a qualitative, constructivist paradigm based on the claim that reality is socially constructed and can best be understood by exploring the tacit, i.e., experience-based, knowledge of individuals. “case” (e.g., Ó Rian, 2009), however. As Schwandt and Gates (2018) write, “[A] case is an instance, incident, or unit of something and can be anything–a person, an organization, an event, a decision, an action, a location”; it can be at the micro, meso, or macro level; it can be an empirical unit or a theoretical construct, specific or general; and in fact, “what the research or case object is a case of may not be known until most of the empirical research is completed” (p. 341). The two authors conclude that given the multifarious interpretations of what case study is, “[b]eyond positing that case study methodology has something to do with ‘in-depth’ investigation of a phenomenon . . . , it is a fool’s errand to pursue what is (or should be) truly called ‘case study’” (p. 343, 344).

Baxter, P., & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13 (4), 544-559.

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

Flick, U. (2015). Introducing research methodology . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

Rian, S. (2009). Extending the ethnographic case study. In D. Byrne & C. C. Ragin (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of case-based methods (pp. 289–306). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Schwandt, T. A., & Gates, E. F. (2018). Case study methodology. In N. K. Dezin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (5th ed.; pp. 341-358). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Yin, R. K. (2016). Qualitative research from start to finish (2nd ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Key Research Books and Articles on Ethnographic Case Study Methodology

Fusch, G. E., & Ness, L. R. (2017). How to conduct a mini-ethnographic case study: A guide for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report , 22 (3), 923-941.  Retrieved from https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol22/iss3/16

In this how-to article, the authors present an argument for the use of a blended research design, namely the Ethnographic Case Study, for student researchers. To establish their point of view, the authors reiterate recognized research protocols, such as choosing a design that suits the research question to ensure data saturation. Additionally, they remind their reader that one must also consider the feasibility of the project in terms of time, energy, and financial constraints.

Before outlining the benefits and components of the Ethnographic Case Study approach, the authors provide detailed narratives of ethnographic, mini-ethnographic (sometimes referred to as a focused ethnography ), and case study research designs to orient the reader. Next, we are introduced to the term mini-ethnographic case-study design, which is defined as a blended design that is bound in time and space and uses qualitative ethnographic and case study collection methods. The benefits of such an approach permit simultaneous generation of theory and the study of that theory in practice, as it allows for the exploration of causality.

Ethnographic Case Study research shares many characteristics with its parent approaches.  For example, subjectivity and bias are present and must be addressed. Next, data triangulation is necessary to ensure the collected qualitative data and subsequent findings are valid and reliable. Data collection methods include direct observation, fieldwork, reflective journaling, informal or unstructured interviews, and focus groups. Finally, the authors discuss three limitations to the ethnographic case study. First, this design requires the researcher to be embedded, yet the duration of time may not be for as long when compared to full-scale ethnographic studies.  Second, since there are fewer participants, there should be a larger focus on rich data as opposed to thick data, or said differently, quality is valued over quantity. Third, the researcher must be aware that the end-goal is not transferability, but rather the objective is to gain a greater understanding of the culture of a particular group that is bound by space and time.

Gregory, E. & Ruby, M. (2010) The ‘insider/outsider’ dilemma of ethnography: Working with young children and their families in cross-cultural contexts. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 9 (2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X10387899

This article focuses on the dilemma of insider and outsider roles in ethnographic work. It challenges the notion that a researcher can be both an insider and an outsider at the same time. There is no insider/outsider status; it is one or the other–not both.

It is easy to make assumptions about one’s status as an insider. It is not uncommon for a researcher to assume that because one is working amongst his/her “own” people sharing a similar background, culture, or faith that she/he is an insider. Likewise, a researcher may assume that it will be easy to build rapport with a community with which he/she has commonalities; however, it is important to keep in mind that the person may be an insider but the researcher may not have this same status. When the person enters into the protective space of family or community as a researcher, it is similar to being an outsider. Being a researcher makes one different, regardless of the commonalities that are shared. It is not the researcher’s presumed status of “insider” or “outsider” that makes the difference; rather, researcher status is determined by the participants or community that is being studied. It is wise for researchers to understand that they are distinctively one of “them” as opposed to one of “us”. This is not to say that researchers cannot become an “insider” to some degree. But to assume insider status, regardless of the rationale, is wrong. Assuming common beliefs across cultures or insider status can lead to difficulties that could impact the scope or nature of the study.

In conclusion, regardless of the ethnographic design (e.g., realist ethnography, ethnographic case study, critical ethnography), it is important for the researcher to approach the study as an “outsider”. Although the outsider status may change over time, it essential to understand that when one enters a community as a researcher or becomes a researcher within a community, insider status must be earned and awarded according to the participants in the community.

Ó Rian, S. (2009). Extending the ethnographic case study. In D. Byrne & C. C. Ragin (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of case-based methods (pp. 289–306). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

In this chapter, Ó Rian valorizes the problems and potential hiding within the vagaries of ethnographic “case” boundaries, arguing that “whereas the fluid and multi-faceted aspects of the ethnographic case pose dilemmas for ethnographers, they can also become resources for ethnographers in exploring theoretical and empirical questions” (p. 292). Indeed, he views the idea of firm case boundaries as a weakness, as “definitions of the case will rule in and out certain social processes,” and suggests ethnography’s flexibility can deal with this problem well because it permits researchers to “question the boundaries of the case as the study proceeds,” leading to a “de- and re-construction of the case that . . . places ethnography at the centre of a resurgent contextualist paradigm of social inquiry . . . that is increasingly self-consciously exploring its own theoretical and methodological foundations” (p. 304). Most of the chapter delves into these possibilities for exploration, offering an insightful (if occasionally difficult to follow) perspective on how they have been proceeding.

The chapter offers considerations that might be particularly helpful to researchers undertaking ethnographic case studies who are struggling to connect their cases, so firmly rooted in a particular context and their own personal experiences and observations, to a bigger picture. Ó Rian elucidates the reflexive strategies various ethnographers have adopted as they’ve sought “[t]o achieve a link between context-specific data and meso- or macro-level generalizations,” categorizing these strategies into three “interlocking extensions of case study research” (p. 292): personal extensions (related to “the shaping of the boundaries of the case by the ethnographer’s location within the field and . . . how ethnographers can convey their personalized experiences and tacit learning to readers” [p. 292]), theoretical extensions (which bridge the gap between the situated worlds being explored and “the larger structures and processes that produced and shaped them” [p. 292]), and empirical extensions (“creative efforts to experiment with the empirical boundaries of the ethnographic case” [p. 292] by bringing in, for example, historical context, social networks, etc.). The crux of his argument is that ethnographic researchers have a prime opportunity to push against the boundaries of their context and “extend their cases across space, time and institutional structures and practices” so that the ethnographer is “multiply, if perhaps a bit uncomfortably, situated” (p. 304), and also to include an “emphasis on the ongoing process of theoretical sampling within the process of the ethnographic study, with close attention to be paid to the paths chosen and rejected, and the reasons for these decisions” (p. 304). These kinds of extensions offer an opportunity for theories to “be refined or reconstructed” as the researcher attempts to locate their personal experience within a broader framework, allowing “[t]he case study . . . to challenge and reconstruct the preferred theory” while also connecting the case to a larger body of work, particularly because theory “carries the accumulated knowledge of previous studies” (p. 296).

Ó Rian’s in-depth descriptions of how other researchers have varyingly handled these personal, theoretical, and empirical extensions might be a bit overwhelming to novice researchers but overall can offer a way to “locate their cases within broader social processes and not solely within their own personal trajectories” (p. 294)–while also helping to situate their reflections and extensions within a larger body of literature replete with researchers struggling with similar questions and concerns.

This chapter offers an  in-depth, generally accessible (but occasionally overwhelming) overview of case studies of all sorts and integrates an extensive review of relevant literature. The authors provide an informed perspective on various considerations and debates in the case study field (e.g., varying definitions of what a “case” is construed to be; interpretive vs. critical realist orientations; the relative benefits of and techniques involved in different types of approaches), helping novice researchers locate and better describe their own approach within the context of the field. The information is quite detailed and delves into a wide variety of case study types, suggesting this chapter might best be first skimmed as an initial introduction, followed by more careful readings of relevant sections and perusal of the key texts cited in the chapter. The breadth of this chapter makes it a helpful resource for anyone interested in case-study methodology.

The authors do not specifically explore ethnographic case studies as a separate type of case study. They do, however, briefly touch on this idea, locating ethnography within the interpretive orientation (comprising constructivist approaches offering “phenomenological attention to lived experience” [p. 344]). The authors also cite researchers who distinguish it due to its “[employing] ethnographic methods and focus on building arguments about cultural, group, or community formation or examining other sociocultural phenomena” (p. 344). Ethnographic case study is placed in contrast to case studies that use non-ethnographic methods (e.g., studies “relying perhaps on survey data and document analysis”) or that “are focused on ‘writing culture’” (p. 344).

Two aspects of this chapter are particularly useful for novice researchers. First, it is worth highlighting the authors’ discussion of varying definitions of what a “case” is, as it can provide an interesting reconceptualization of the purpose of the research and the reason for conducting it. The second noteworthy aspect is the authors’ detailed descriptions of the four main case study uses/designs ( descriptive, hypothesis generation or theory development, hypothesis and theory testing , and contributing to normative theory ), which the authors beautifully align with the respective purposes and methods of each type while also offering insight into relevant conversations in the field.

Further Readings

Moss, P. A., & Haertel, E. H. (2016). Engaging methodological pluralism. In D. H. Gitomer & C. A. Bell (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Teaching (pp. 127–247). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.

Simons, H. (2014). Case study research: In-depth understanding in context. In P. Leavy (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of qualitative research (pp. 455–470). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Recent Dissertations Using Ethnographic Case Study Methodology

Cozzolino, M. (2014). Global education, accountability, and 21st century skills: A case of curriculum innovation . Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (Order Number 3648007)

This dissertation is self-described as an ethnographic case study of a small, public, suburban high school in Pennsylvania. In this study, the researcher investigates the school’s process of integrating global education into its curriculum by implementing a school-wide initiative (Global Studies Initiative or GSI) as well as a program of study (Global Studies Credential or GSC). Cozzolino asserts that her framework has been shaped by both social constructivism and critical/Freirean pedagogy. From the constructivist view, she views knowledge as constructed through social interaction, and thus she sought to understand the world in which the research participants work, learn, and experience large parts of their lives. It is here that she situates the first three research questions that entail looking at the the GSI and the GSC in terms of their features, rationales, and implementations. The fourth question involves understanding the students’ views and perceptions of the GSC and here the author takes up a critical and Freirean pedagogy to honor and hear the voices of the students themselves.

The study design is therefore an embedded single-case study in that it is bound by the place (Olympus High School) and by its population. Furthermore, it is also a case within a case, as it seeks to understand the students’ perspectives of the global programming. The case study is ethnographically rooted through the multiple ethnographic data sources such as participant-observations and a prolonged engagement at the research site. Cozzolino embedded herself in the research site over a five-year period and became an active and invested member of the school community, thereby establishing a sound rationale for an ethnographic case-study approach.

The author concludes that there were some competing priorities about the overall initiative from stakeholders inside and outside the school district. This resulted in a less than ideal implementation of the program of study across the curriculum. Nonetheless, the students who were enrolled in these courses reported it to be a worthwhile experience. While Cozzolino presents specific recommendations for the improvements at Olympus High, she also offers implications for several other groups. First, she provides advice for implementation to other educational institutions that aim to integrate a global focus into their curriculum. Next, she gives recommendations for local, state, and national policy changes. Finally, she gives suggestions for engaging all parties in fruitful discourse to achieve their ultimate goal of implementing a meaningful and valuable global education curriculum.

Hamman, L. (2018). Reframing the language separation debate: Language, identity, and  ideology in two-way immersion . Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (Order Number 2089463322)

This study explored the issues of surrounding language separation in two-way immersion (TWI) classrooms. The author looked at how classroom language practices and teacher ideologies influenced the student experience and how the students’ understanding of what it means to be bilingual is influenced in a classroom that purports to be equitable in terms of language use.

The study is theoretically grounded in sociocultural, critical, and postcultural theories and adapted Lemke’s ecosocial system to conceptualize TWI classroom. Hamman also drew upon translanguaging theory and dynamic bilingualism to provide a framework for a more modern and nuanced perspective of bilingualism, bilingual learning, and bilingual students.

The author combined a single-case study approach with ethnographic methods to “engage in close analysis of classroom language use and the discursive negotiation of identities and ideologies, while situating these analyses within a rich understanding of the sociolinguistic context of this TWI classroom” (p. 78-79). She employed various ethnographic methods such as taking fieldnotes, conducting participant observations, interviewing, and memoing. The study is “bound” in that it takes place in one 2nd-grade classroom with one teacher and 18 students over the course of one year.

Hamman concludes that student perspectives on language separation should be considered, since this forced separation of language influenced how they thought of their developing bilingualism and identity as bilinguals. Furthermore, the study envisages a linguistic “middle ground” to strict separation that allows for appropriate and meaningful spaces for linguistic negotiation. Finally, this dissertation asserts that the strict separation of languages codifies a monoglossic ideology mindset and limits learners’ possibilities for learning and making connections across languages.

Kim, S. (2015). Korean migrant youth identity work in the transnational social field: A link between identity, transnationalism, and new media literacy . Retrieved from University of Missouri-St. Louis Institutional Repository Library. https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/158/

This doctoral dissertation takes an ethnographic case study approach to explore the identity formation of transnational Korean youth. The researcher, herself a Korean immigrant to the U.S. navigating complex identity processes, focuses on these research questions: “1) what are the contexts in which migrant youth negotiate their identities? 2) how do youth understand and negotiate their sense of belonging? 3) how do youth’s [sic] cultural and literacy practices inform and shape their identities? 3i) how do youth make use of transnational new media for their identity work? 3ii) how do literacy practices potentially shape their identities?” (p. 7).

Drawing on Leander and McKim (2013), the author conceptualizes her study as a “connective ethnography” (p. 36) encompassing multiple spaces, both digital and physical, in which “space” comprises a variety of relationships, instead of a more traditional ethnography bounded by physical space. The “case study” aspect, meanwhile, refers to the four specific participants in which she chose to focus. She chose Korean immigrants in St. Louis, in general, due to their mobility between the U.S. and Korea, their high use of digital communication and information technology, and their limited access to the cultural resources of Korea in a Midwestern city. From an initial 32 possible participants purposively selected, the researcher chose four focal participants based on their Korean ethnicity, biliteracy in Korean and English, age (between 11 and 19 years old), residence in the U.S. (for at least 2 years), and their use of digital communication technologies. Data sources included an initial screening survey, an identity map each participant created, informal recorded conversations, recorded interviews in either English or Korean, field notes from the researcher’s interactions with the youth in various settings (home, school, community centers), and “literacy documents” (evidence of literacy practices from participants’ school and home, emails to the researcher, or activities in digital spaces). She used social semiotic multimodal discourse analysis and what she describes as “grounded theory thematic analysis” to analyze the data.

This is a reflective, thoughtful, and interesting dissertation. The author carefully notes the relationship between the data sources and her research questions, specifically addresses steps she took to ensure the validity of the data (e.g., triangulation via multiple data sources and theoretical frameworks, member checks, and feedback from her professors and other researchers), and discloses her own positionalities and biases. Her discussion includes not only a clear thematic exploration of her findings but also offers specific practical suggestions for how her findings can be applied and extended in the classroom.

Internet Resources

Abalos-Gerard Gonzalez , L. (2011). Ethnographic research . Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/lanceabalos/ethnographic-research-2?from_action=save

Created by Lance Gerard G. Abalos, teacher at the Department of Education-Philippines, this SlideShare, Ethnographic Research , explains that, regardless of specific design, ethnographic research should be undertaken “without any priori hypothesis to avoid predetermining what is observed or that information is elicited from informants . . .hypotheses evolve out of the fieldwork itself” (slide 4). It is also suggested that researchers refer to individuals from whom information is gathered as ‘informants’ is preferred over the term ‘participants’ (slide 4).

According to Abalos, “It is not the data collection techniques that determine whether the study is ethnographic, but rather the ‘socio-cultural interpretation’ that sets it apart from other forms of qualitative inquiry” (slide 6). A social situation always has three components: a place, actors, and activities (slide 8) and it is the socio-cultural interpretation of the interactions of these three that is the focus of the ethnographic research.

Ethnographic questions should guide what the researcher sees, hears, and collects as data (slide 9). When writing the ethnography, it is essential to ‘bring the culture or group to life’ through the words and descriptions used to describe the place, actors, and activities.

Abalos describes three types of ethnographic designs:

• Realist Ethnographies : an objective account of the situation, written dispassionately from third-person point of view, reporting objectively on information learned from informants, containing closely edited quotations (slide 11-12).
• Ethnographic Case Studies : researchers focus on a program, event, or activity involving individuals rather than a group, looking for shared patterns that develop as a group as a result of the program, event, or activity (slide 13).
• Critical Ethnographies: incorporating a ‘critical’ approach that includes an advocacy perspective, researchers are interested in advocating against inequality and domination (slide 14).

As ethnographic data is analyzed, in any design (e.g., realist, case study, critical), there is a shift away from reporting the facts to making an interpretation of people and activities, determining how things work, and identifying the essential features in themes of the cultural setting (slide 22). “The ethnographer must present the description, themes, and interpretation within the context or setting of the culture-sharing group (slide 23).

Brehm, W. (2016, July 21). FreshEd #13 – Jane Kenway . Retrieved from http://www.freshedpodcast.com/tag/ethnography/ (EDXSymposium: New Frontiers in Comparative Education).

Jane Kenway is with the Australian Research Council and is an emeritus professor at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. In this podcast, she explains “traditional’ forms of ethnography and multi-sited global ethnography, which are her area of specialization. She considers “traditional” ethnography to have three components: space, time, and mobility.

Insider/outsider stance is explained within the context of spatiality, community, and culture of space specific to ‘traditional” ethnography. Researchers are outsiders who are attempting to enter a space and become insiders, then leave the space once the research is completed. Research is conducted over an extended period of time in one place/space. As a result, researchers will get to know in an extremely intimate manner the ways of life of the community or group. “Work is supposed to be a temporality of slowness. In other words, you don’t rush around like a mad thing in a field, you just quietly and slowly immerse yourself in the field over this extended period of time and get to understand it, get to appreciate it bit by bit.” (minute 7:56).

“Traditional” ethnographers are not necessarily interested in mobility over time or exploring who enters and exits the site. Most ethnographers are only interested in the movement that occurs in the space that is being studied during the time that they are in the field. It is about looking at the roots of the space, not necessarily about looking at the movements into and out of the space.

Multi-sited global ethnography tries to look at the way bounded sites can be studied as unbounded and on the move, as opposed to staying still. It considers how certain things (e.g., things, ideas, people) are  followed as they move. The researcher moves between sites, studying change that is encountered in different sites. From this perspective, the interested lies in the connections between sites. Multiple sites with commonalities can also be studied at the onset, without the need to physically follow.

Paulus, T. M., Lester, J. N., & Dempster, P. G. (2014). Digital Tools for Qualitative Research. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

While this text is not solely about ethnographic case studies, it is rich with countless ideas for utilizing digital tools to aid in the multiple facets of qualitative research. In Chapter 5 of their text, entitled Generating Data, the authors dedicate a section to exploring Internet archives and multimedia data. They state that, “in addition to online communities, the Internet is rich with multimedia data such as professionally curated archives, ameteur-created YouTube and Vimeo videos and photo-sharing sites” (p. 81). They provide three specific examples, each explained below: The Internet Archive, CADENSA, and Britain’s BBC Archives.

The Internet Archive ( https://archive.org ) is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more. The site also contains a variety of cultural artifacts that are easily available and downloadable. CADENSA ( http://cadensa.bl.uk ) is an online archive of the British Library Sound and Moving Image Catalogue. And finally, the BBC Archives ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/ ) is a particularly useful site for researchers interested in reviewing documentary film and political speeches.

Wang, T. (2016, September). Tricia Wang: The human insights missing from big data. [Video file]. Retrieved from  https://www.ted.com/talks/tricia_wang_the_human_insights_missing_from_big_data

In this TED Talk, Tricia Wang discusses her ethnographic work with technology and advocates for the need to save a place for thick data as opposed to relying only on big data. She argues that while companies invest millions of dollars in generating big data because they assume it will efficiently provide all the answers, it routinely does not provide a good return on investment. Instead, companies are left without answers to the questions about consumer preferences and behaviors, which leaves them unprepared for market changes.

In turn, Wang coins the term thick data, which is described as “precious data from humans, like stories, emotions, and interactions that cannot be quantified” (Minute 11:50). Wang suggests that this thick data may only come from a small group of individuals, but it is an essential component that can provide insights that are different and valuable. As an example, while working for Nokia, her ethnographic experiences in China provided her with new understandings on the future demand for smartphones. However, her employer did not take her findings seriously, and as a result, they lost their foothold in the technology market. She posits that a blended approach to collecting and analyzing data (i.e. combining or integrating thick data analysis with big data analysis) allows for a better grasp on the whole picture and making informed decisions.

Her conclusions for a blended approach to data collection also have implications for blending ethnographic and case-study approaches. While Wang took more of an ethnographic approach to her research, one could envision what her work might have looked like if she had used an Ethnographic Case Study approach. Wang could have clearly defined the time and space boundaries of her various ethnographic experiences (e.g. as a street vendor, living in the slums, hanging out in internet cafés). This would have allowed her to infer causality through the generation of thick data with a small sample size for each location and bound by each group.

Ethnographic Case Studies Copyright © 2019 by Jeannette Armstrong; Laura Boyle; Lindsay Herron; Brandon Locke; and Leslie Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Chapter 11: Mixed Methods and Multiple Methods

Mixed methods research recognizes, and works with, the fact that the world is not exclusively quantitative or qualitative; it is not an either/or world, but a mixed world, even though the researcher may find that the research has a predominant disposition to, or requirement for, numbers or qualitative data.

— Louis Cohen, Lawrencee Manion, & Keith Morrison, 2018, p. 31

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, students should be able to do the following:

• Compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative approaches.
• Define mixed-methods approach, explain why a researcher might opt for a mixed-methods design, and differentiate between mixed-method designs.
• Define case study research and explain why a researcher might choose a single-case design over a multiple-case study.
• Define evaluation research and explain what an evaluation design entails.
• Define action research, describe the underlying logic of action research, and identify the steps in an action research cycle.

INTRODUCTION

In earlier chapters, you learned to distinguish between qualitative and quantitative approaches to social research. In this chapter, you will learn about the merits of mixing qualitative and quantitative approaches for adding depth and breadth to our understanding of just about any social topic. In addition, you will learn about various ways to combine multiple methods in a single study.

How the Approaches Differ

Recall how quantitative approaches tend to stem from the positivist tradition, which emphasizes objectivity and the search for causal explanations, while qualitative approaches can often be traced to a more interpretive framework, with an emphasis on the socially constructed nature of reality. In addition, while quantitative approaches are usually rooted in deductive reasoning and include research questions framed into hypotheses with operationalized variables, qualitative methods often incorporate inductive reasoning and research questions that are broader or take the form of exploratory statements about concepts of interest. There are always exceptions to these patterns, as in the case of qualitative research that is designed to test theories or quantitative research that is inductive. However, it is fair to say that the methods used by quantitative researchers often consist of experiments, surveys, or unobtrusive measures such as the analysis of secondary data, while qualitative researchers are more apt to rely upon in-depth interviews, participant observational approaches, or ethnography to examine a phenomenon in its natural setting.

Acknowledging differences between qualitative and quantitative approaches does not imply that there must be a division between them, so much as it helps to illustrate the ways in which the approaches are complementary. That is, the strengths of one approach tend to be the weaknesses of the other and vice versa. For example, a survey in the form of a questionnaire can be used to obtain a great deal of data from a large representative sample, and the measures on the questionnaire might be considered highly reliable and valid using quantitative criteria such as inter-item reliability and construct validity. However, from a qualitative perspective, the findings still might not be genuine, since they are based on predetermined categories and highly structured questions—meaning respondents cannot provide additional details or explain the issue from their own perspective. In addition, respondents may choose not to answer certain items and may provide less truthful, albeit socially desirable, answers. Conversely, the rapport established in an in-depth qualitative interview can uncover a wealth of information from the perspective of an interviewee. The insightful discoveries are deemed to be credible because of the trustworthy processes used to obtain the data as well as the rigour used to verify the findings, such as through member checks and peer debriefing. However, from a quantitative perspective, the same results are going to be viewed as having limited reliability, due to the small sample size and a lack of generalizability. Figure 11.1 provides a highly simplified comparison of the key differences between quantitative and qualitative methods. For a more detailed discussion of the various ways to assess reliability and validity in qualitative and quantitative studies, please refer to chapter 4.

How the Approaches are Similar

Although it may appear that quantitative and qualitative approaches are opposites, there is one main similarity shared by the approaches when it comes to their overall orientation to research: both qualitative and quantitative approaches rely on empirical methods. Both approaches are geared toward empirical observations even though they rely upon different techniques to obtain them. Although different methods are used, the processes undertaken follow systematic procedures that are recognized by other researchers. Qualitative researchers, for example, carry out in-depth interviews in standardized ways, by first obtaining ethical approval, by obtaining consent from the interviewee, by using opening remarks to break the ice and establish rapport, and by utilizing various types of questions and prompts. Similarly, quantitative researchers administer a questionnaire in standardized ways, by first obtaining ethical approval, by obtaining consent from the participants, by including clear instructions for completing the questionnaire, and by developing a questionnaire instrument that avoids the use of jargon and technical language. In the same way, quantitative researchers carefully create instruments so they constitute highly reliable and valid measures, while qualitative researchers go to great lengths to ensure their approaches to data collection are trustworthy and credible and that the data obtained is accurate. Moreover, when it comes to the dissemination or sharing of research findings, all researchers describe the procedures they followed to undertake the study in such detail that others can check on and verify the processes and, in some cases, even replicate the study based on how it was described. Thus, one approach is not better or worse than another—the two are just different, as required for different purposes.

Combined Approaches are Not New

Research in the social sciences is highly complex, particularly when the goal is to accurately describe a group, explain a process, or explore an experience. Relying on either quantitative or qualitative methods exclusively can be unnecessarily limiting. For example, Padgett (2012) points out that while “surveys supply much-needed aggregate information on individuals, households, neighborhoods, organizations, and entire nations … they fall short in assessing individuals as they live and work within their households, neighborhoods, organizations, and nations” (p. 9). Wouldn’t it make sense to combine approaches to achieve a more complete understanding? Research utilizing combined approaches is common in a variety of disciplines, including education, healthcare and nursing, library science, political science, psychology, and sociology (Terrell, 2012). Some approaches to research are always based on a combination of methods. Ethnography, for example, is routinely carried out using a combination of qualitative methods of equal importance within the overall design of a study, such as participant observation and qualitative interviewing, or qualitative interviews combined with elements of photography (see chapter 10). Further, methods that are primarily quantitative sometimes include a qualitative component, such as structured questionnaires that include closed- and open-ended items (see chapter 7). Some methods are conducive to both qualitative and quantitative approaches, such as content analysis and observational analysis. Finally, triangulation in qualitative research necessitates attempts to locate a point of convergence or agreement in findings as based on multiple observers, multiple data sources, or the use of multiple methods (see chapter 4). There are endless possibilities for combining methods and approaches in a single study. Methods were introduced in singular forms in earlier chapters mainly for the sake of simplicity, so you would first be able to understand their underlying logic and unique contributions. As noted in the opening quote, using a combination of approaches has the potential to describe and explain phenomena more fully and completely than could be ever be the case if researchers limited themselves to only one quantitative or qualitative method.

Activity: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods

• Why are qualitative approaches considered to be empirical?
• In what ways are qualitative and quantitative approaches complementary?

MIXED-METHODS APPROACHES

Distinct from the use of multiple methods of any kind, a mixed-methods approach always entails an explicit combination of qualitative and quantitative methods as framed by the research objectives. This can involve designing a study to include a qualitative and quantitative method undertaken at the same time, such as obtaining existing data for an organization for secondary analysis while at the same time interviewing members of that organization. A mixed-methods approach can also include the use of two or more methods at different times, such as seeking participants for qualitative interviews based on the findings from the secondary analysis of existing data.

Research on the Net

Journal of Mixed Methods Research

The Journal of Mixed Methods Research (JMMR) is an interdisciplinary quarterly publication that focuses on empirical, theoretical, and/or methodology-based articles dealing with mixed methods in a variety of disciplines. In the articles found in JMMR, you can learn more about types of mixed-methods designs, data collection and analysis using mixed-methods approaches, and the importance of inferences based on mixed-methods research.

Why Researchers Mix Methods

Researchers combine qualitative and quantitative methods for any number of reasons. The most commonly cited reason for mixing methods pertains to the comprehensive understanding of research interests that can only be obtained through a combination of different but complementary approaches (Tanoamchard, 2023). For example, after employing one method, researchers can elaborate upon or clarify the results obtained, using additional methods (Green et al., 1989). Faye Mishna and colleagues at the University of Toronto (2018) first examined the nature and extent of cyber-aggression among university students via responses provided by 1,350 students who completed an online survey. Survey findings, for example, indicated that about one-quarter of the respondents had had a video or photo shared without their permission and that perpetrators tended to be friends of the victims. The researchers later conducted a series of focus groups and interviews to better understand respondents’ concerns and identified themes of perceived anonymity and the practice of sexting as contributors to online “attacks,” and discovered cumulative mental health consequences (Mishna et al., 2018).

A second related reason for combining approaches is to capitalize on the benefits of both approaches, while minimizing or offsetting their associated drawbacks (Bell et al., 2022). Recall that an experiment is conducted in a controlled environment that lends itself to high internal validity but may be so artificial that is not representative of a real-life setting. In-depth interviews with participants can help to determine whether the findings have external validity. Finally, a researcher might also use mixed methods for development purposes where the findings from one method (e.g., qualitative) are used to help design the second method (e.g., quantitative) (Green et al., 1989). This kind of development usually takes place in what Creswell and Creswell (2023) refer to as sequential designs, where one method is used in the first phase of a study and the results then inform a different method that is used in a later phase. For example, a researcher may start off with a focus group or in-depth interviews to establish categories or to develop items that will be later utilized in a structured survey.

Mixed-Method Designs

There are various ways to mix methods within a research study, based on the order or sequence in which the methods are employed and the point (or points) at which the data are combined. Three mixed-method designs are discussed in this section to illustrate customary ways to combine qualitative and quantitative methods within a single study.

Convergent Design

In a convergent design (also known as a convergent parallel design), both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed at the same time with equal priority (Creswell & Creswell, 2023). For example, secondary analysis of existing data might coincide with interviews during the same phase of a research study. Using a convergent design, researchers carry out independent data collection and analyses where the secondary analysis is done separately from the interviews. Only at the end stage of the research are findings from the qualitative and qualitative components compared and integrated as part of the overall interpretation (see figure 11.2). Note that convergent designs are used in triangulation strategies, where more than one method is employed to see if the results converge. However, in such cases, the two methods are likely to both be qualitative, as opposed to qualitative and quantitative.

Wilson et al. (2012) employed a mixed-methods convergent design to understand the implications of care-setting transitions during the last year of life for rural Canadians. They used quantitative secondary analysis to describe and compare healthcare transitions between rural and urban residents based on in-patient hospital and ambulatory care information on Albertans that was contained in databases. At the same time, the researchers used an online survey to collect information from individuals who could provide details on rural Canadians who had died in the last year. Respondents were asked to provide information on the number of moves, the location of the moves, and the impact of care moves undertaken by the now deceased. Researchers also conducted qualitative interviews with bereaved family members, located through notices posted in rural newspapers and in community settings (e.g., grocery store bulletin boards), to learn about the moves and the family members’ experiences over the last year. Findings from the secondary data revealed that rural decedents had undergone more healthcare-setting transitions for in-patient hospital care than urban patients had. Survey data indicated that the deceased had undergone an average of eight moves in the last year of life and that there was a great deal of travelling required to take the now-deceased individuals to and from appointments, generally at different hospitals in various locations. Main themes emerged from the interviews—the point that necessary care was scattered across many places; that travelling was difficult for the terminally ill and their caregivers; and that local services were minimal (Wilson et al., 2012).

As a more recent example, Armstrong et al. (2022) employed a mixed-methods convergent design to investigate the way different blood donor policies shape interest in donation and willingness to donate among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men in Ontario, Canada. A series of surveys (i.e., the quantitative methods) were completed by 447 gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men along with in-depth interviews (i.e., the qualitative method) involving 31 of these individuals. Quantitative results showed that 69% of respondents were interested in donating blood and that, among this group, willingness to donate would significantly increase if the policy in place at the time of the study (i.e., the policy preventing men from donating if they had had oral or anal sex with another man) was altered to remove the consideration of oral sex or to include the consideration of condom use. However, these alternative policies did not elicit a similar quantitative increase in willingness among respondents who were not interested in donating blood. Qualitative data demonstrated that their disinterest was largely rooted in the interpretation of any policy specifically targeting men who have sex with men as discriminatory; and that these respondents would only consider donating under a policy that was applied to all prospective donors regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation (Armstrong et al., 2022).

Explanatory Design

Recall that one of the main reasons for combining methods is to clarify the results of one method through the utilization of a second method. In an explanatory design (also known as an explanatory sequential design), a quantitative method is employed first and then the findings are followed up on, using a qualitative method (see figure 11.3). For example, a researcher might administer a survey to understand the general views of a sample on an issue of interest. After the survey data is collected and analyzed, researchers might conduct in-depth qualitative interviews with a few respondents to better understand and explain results obtained in the earlier, prioritized quantitative phase.

In a study on the interrelationships between bisexuality, poverty, and mental health, Ross and colleagues (2016) first examined quantitative survey data stemming from a sample of 302 bisexual individuals from Ontario. The quantitative data provided descriptive information on the sample, including demographics (e.g., age, gender identity, education, and relationship status), and it was used to develop a context for understanding poverty and mental health by examining the effect of low income, as measured by the Canadian Low Income Cut-Off (LICO), on mental health indicators such as depression and anxiety. For example, 76 participants (25.7 percent) were below the LICO, and of those, individuals who identified as “trans” were over-represented. Those below the LICO also showed higher scores for psychological distress and discrimination compared to those above the LICO (Ross et al., 2016). The researchers later followed up with 41 participants, through qualitative interviews, to learn more about how bisexuality, poverty, and mental health interrelate through pathways. For example, one pathway concerned early life experiences related to bisexuality that directly or indirectly impacted income and mental health, as was the case for participants who lost middle-class status when they left their families of origin due to conflicts relating to their sexuality, or those who turned to substance abuse as a means for dealing with their feelings (Ross et al., 2016, p. 67).

Exploratory Design

In an exploratory design (also known as an exploratory sequential design), a qualitative method is prioritized and then, based on the findings from the qualitative study, a quantitative method is developed and subsequently employed (see figure 11.4). For example, themes emerging from transcribed data based on a small number of in-depth interviewees can help to create categories and constructs included in a questionnaire for use with a much larger, more representative sample of respondents.

Moubarac et al. (2012) used a two-stage exploratory mixed-methods design to examine the situational context associated with the consumption of sweetened food and drink products in a Catholic Middle-Eastern Canadian community in Montreal. In stage 1, the researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 42 individuals to learn more about sweetened food and drink consumption. Specifically, the convenience sample was asked to think about their consumption of sweetened drinks and foods, and they were provided with examples. Interviewees were then directed to comment on the last three times they consumed sweetened products, noting conditions and circumstances associated with consumption, such as time of day and location. In addition, the interviewees were asked to name their favourite sweetened product and to note conditions and circumstances associated with it. Finally, they were asked about customary consumption of sweetened products in different locations, such as at work and at home. A content analysis of the transcribed interview data revealed 40 items and six main themes associated with consumption of sweetened products, including energy (i.e., sweets provide energy); negative emotions, or tendency to eat sweets when sad; positive emotions, such as a reward; social environment (e.g., offered at someone’s house); physical environment or availability; and constraints (e.g., eating out at restaurants) (Moubarac et al., 2012).

Findings from stage 1 were then used to construct the Situational Context Instrument for Sweetened Product Consumption (SCISPC), a self-report questionnaire used in stage 2 of the study. Stage 2 consisted of a cross-sectional study in which 192 individuals (105 women and 87 men) completed the SCISPC. The participants also completed a food frequency questionnaire that included a listing of sweet products such as brownies, cakes, candy, cookies, muffins, and soft drinks along with the associated total sugar content, a questionnaire on socio-demographics, and items on self-reported weight and height. Quantitative analyses revealed seven situational factors related to the consumption of sweets, including emotional needs, snacking, socialization, visual stimuli, constraints, energy demands, and indulgence (Moubarac et al., 2012).

Activity: Mixed Method Designs

Test Yourself

• In what way is a qualitative approach similar to a quantitative one?
• What six core characteristics underlie true mixed-methods research?
• For what reasons might a researcher choose a mixed-methods design?
• In which kind of mixed-methods design does a researcher begin with quantitative data collection and analysis?

RESEARCH USING MULTIPLE METHODS

Within the social sciences, certain types of studies are routinely carried out using multiple methods, such as ethnography, as discussed in chapter 10. Three areas of research that typically employ multiple methods (but not necessarily mixed methods) are case study research, evaluation research, and action research.

Case Study Research

Recall from chapter 4 that a case study pertains to research on a small number of individuals or an organization carried out over an extended period. A case study is an intensive strategy that employs a combination of methods such as archival analysis, interviews, and/or direct observation to describe or explain a phenomenon of interest in the context within which it occurs. As Yin (2018) puts it, a case study is most relevant when a “how” or “why” research question is being asked about a contemporary set of events over which the investigator has little control (p. 9). The focus of a case study can be a person, a social group, an institution, a setting, an event, a process, or even a decision. In addition, the scope of a case study can be narrow, as in an examination of one person’s journey through a single round of chemotherapy treatments, or it can be broad, as in a case study of chemotherapy as an available treatment option for cancer patients. What sets case study research apart from other forms of research is that it is a strategy that intensively “investigates a contemporary phenomenon (the ‘case’) in depth and within its real-world context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context may not be clearly evident” (Yin, 2018, p. 15).

By holistically examining one person undergoing chemotherapy treatment, for example, a researcher can gain insight into the greater context of how other variables, such as interactions with doctors and hospital staff, travel arrangements, family dynamics, and pain management all contribute in various ways to the overall experience for that individual. Case study research relies upon multiple methods of data collection, with the goal of uncovering converging evidence that will help to explain or describe the phenomenon of interest. If the goal of a case study is to understand a person’s experience while undergoing chemotherapy, a researcher is likely to interview that person on several occasions and speak to primary caregivers close to that person, such as a spouse, parent, sibling, and/or child. In addition, the researcher might examine archival documents, such as postings on Facebook or entries in a personal diary, to get a sense of what the experience means to the person undergoing treatment. While most often employing qualitative methods, case studies are not inherently qualitative in nature and can include quantitative methods or a combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques.

Single- versus Multiple-Case Study Designs

Single-case design.

Case study research is based on either a single-case or a multiple-case design. A single-case design refers to case study research that focuses on only one person, organization, event, or program as the unit of analysis as emphasized by the research objectives. Yin (2018) offers several reasons why researchers might choose a single-case design. First, a single-case design might be selected by a researcher if the case represents a critical case that represents all criteria necessary for testing a theory of interest. A single-case design might also be preferred if the case represents an extreme situation or event, since an outlier is likely to provide insights that are unanticipated. However, a single-case design is also likely to be chosen if a case can be identified as highly representative or common among a larger range of phenomena to convey what is typical. In addition to features of the case itself, a single-case design might be selected largely because of the unique opportunity it affords to investigate an area. For example, a case study of a patient with a rare disorder can help medical practitioners and families to more accurately describe the disorder, find appropriate interventions, and reveal new insights. This is usually called a revelatory case (Yin, 2018, p. 50). Finally, if the goal of a study is to determine how a person, organization, or process changes over time, a single-case study is a good choice, as this design is especially suited to longitudinal analysis.

As an example of a single-case strategy focused on one person, Elmhurst and Thyer (2023) jointly writing in first person perspectives as the client (Elmhurst) and therapist (Thyer), describe how exposure therapy over Skype was used to treat a 27-year old women with a debilitating fear of balloons. The study included a period of initial assessment (where the client met the diagnostic criteria for a phobia), followed by self-conducted exposure therapy where the client was slowly exposed to a Youtube video depicting balloons being popped and recorded her reactions to it over a period of time. Once the client mastered watching the videos, she was then exposed to uninflated balloons in her home and eventually exposed to balloons over Skype (where the therapist blew up and popped them). Quantitative measures included pre- and post-treatment approach measures including how close the client would come (in feet) away from a balloon as well as anxiety ratings while qualitative assessments included personal accounts (e.g., dreams and balloon ruminations). By the end of the Skype sessions, the client was able to blow up and pop a balloon herself and she no longer met the diagnostic criteria for a phobia (Elmhurst & Thyer, 2023).

As another example, Hamm et al. (2008) focused their single-case study research on a long-standing Canadian non-profit sports organization to examine value congruence between the employees and the organization. First, the researchers collected and examined existing documents, such as policy statements, meeting notes, and emails. The next phase of the study involved non-participant observation in meetings and activities. In the third phase, employees rated their personal employee values by completing the Rokeach Value Survey. Finally, employees identified as having the highest and lowest value congruence, based on the survey findings, were then interviewed to learn more about their opinions and experiences. Overall, the findings indicated a significant discrepancy or incongruence between organization and employee values. For example, while the organization emphasized “wisdom” and “equality,” the employees rated “accomplishment” and “family security” as being much more important. Moreover, while the organization highly valued “equality,” the employees did not feel that they were treated with equality. In addition, the organization heavily promoted their five core values (i.e., leadership, open, listen, responsive, and relevant), but none of the interviewed employees mentioned these as values they felt they shared with the organization (Hamm et al., 2008).

Multiple-Case Design

A multiple-case design is a case study strategy that involves more than one case studied concurrently for the explicit purpose of comparison. According to Yin (2018), a small number of cases are specifically chosen for use in multiple-case study designs because they are expected to produce similar findings, akin to replication in experimental research. Alternatively, two or more cases might also be selected because they are expected to show contrasting findings, as predicted by relevant theoretical assertions. It is important to note that the logic underlying the inclusion of additional cases cannot be likened to the sampling logic used in quantitative survey research to obtain representative samples or generalizable findings. However, it can approximate the control obtained in experimental research if the two selected cases are virtually identical except for the feature that becomes the focus of a controlled comparison (George & Bennett, 2005).

As an example of a multiple-case design, Egan et al. (2023) sought to identify factors associated with exemplary post-discharge stroke rehabilitation care through a comparison of four programs from different regions of Ontario. Semi-structured interviews with patients, care partners, and administrators as well as focus groups with care providers revealed three features in common including a high level of stroke and stroke rehabilitation knowledge, the establishment of personalized respectful relationships, and a commitment to high-quality, person-centred care (Egan et al., 2023).

Research Strategy: Case Study

To better understand how a case study differs from an experiment and to appreciate the differences between single-case and multiple-case designs within a business context, you can view Robert Barcik’s video on case study research , uploaded to YouTube on March 17, 2016.

Evaluation Research

Another form of research that relies upon the use of multiple methods for data collection and analysis is evaluation research. Recall from chapter 1 that evaluation research is undertaken to assess whether a program or policy is effective in reaching its desired goals and objectives. Social science evaluation research includes “the application of empirical social science research to the process of judging the effectiveness of … policies, programs, or projects, as well as their management and implementation for decision making purposes” (Langbein, 2012, p. 3). Virtually every government department and every funded social program or intervention undergoes evaluation. For example, evaluation research was used to determine the effectiveness of  Canada’s first LGBTQ2S Transitional Housing Program (Abramovich & Kimura, 2021), a therapist training program for treatment-resistant depression (Tai et al., 2021), Before Operational Stress (a program to support mental health)(Stelnicki et al., 2021), and a community-based approach to developing mental wellness strategies in First Nations (Morton et al., 2020). The potential topics for evaluation research are endless.

Types of Evaluation Research

There are different kinds of evaluation research, depending on where a program is in terms of its existence and overall life course. For example, before a program is developed, evaluation research is informative for diagnosing what is required in the way of a program. “The main form of diagnostic research that centers on problems is the needs assessment . In needs assessment, the focus is on understanding the difference between a current condition and an ideal condition” (Stoecker, 2013, p. 109). Goals of a needs assessment typically centre on identifying a problem, finding out who is affected by that problem, and coming up with a program to address the problem. Sample questions include the following:

• What is the nature of the problem affecting this community (or group)?
• How prevalent is this problem?
• What are the characteristics of the population most affected by this problem?
• What are the needs of the affected population?
• What resources are currently available to address this problem?
• What resources are required to more adequately address this problem?

Needs assessments are largely focused on obtaining information that will help in the early planning and eventual development of a program. To learn as much as possible about members of a target community, researchers are likely to rely upon a range of tools and methods, including existing documents, survey methods, observational analyses, and interviews (Sullivan, 2001).

Evaluation research that is conducted to examine and monitor existing programs is usually called program evaluation or program monitoring. The overarching question in a program evaluation is likely to take the form of “Did the program work?” Evaluation directed at answering the question of whether a program, policy, or project worked usually entails a large-scale research project that combines multiple methods, such as site visits, the examination of existing program documents, and in-depth interviews with employees. The purpose is to gauge how well the major program components link up with the corresponding program goals.

Sample questions include the following:

• Is this program working? (Why or why not?)
• Is this program operating as it was intended?
• Are program objectives being met?
• Are the services reaching the intended target population?
• Were the program goals achieved?
• Did the program result in positive outcomes for the clients?

Program evaluations have historically relied on some form system’s model (see figure 11.5). The model describes the program by depicting its organizational structure in terms of interconnected inputs, including resources put into the program, such as funding, other agency involvement, and certified staff; activities, including program offerings, such as counselling sessions or skill development classes; outputs or results, including who attended the program; and outcomes, including the overall goals and benefits, such as reduced recidivism or increased social development. While this might come across as a straightforward approach to evaluation, it is anything but. Many programs are not amenable to evaluation because they do not have clearly articulated goals and objectives, or the goals and objectives are not realistic or measurable. Wholey (1994) suggests first employing an evaluability assessment to see if minimum criteria can be met before embarking on a full-scale evaluation of a program. An evaluability assessment includes (1) a description of the program’s overall model; (2) an assessment of how amenable that model is to evaluation, such as whether the goals and objectives are clearly stated and whether performance measures can be obtained; and (3) additional details on stakeholder views of the purpose and use of the evaluation findings, where possible (Rossi et al., 2019, p. 61). The purpose of the evaluability assessment is to gauge whether a program can be meaningfully evaluated. For example, programs designed to reduce the incidence of prostitution (i.e., the purchasing of sexual services), through educational efforts such as Sex-Trade Offender Programs (see Symbaluk & Jones, 1998), are regularly criticized for having unclear or unmeasurable goals. For example, how would it be possible to show that there was a reduced demand for prostitution? Yet this is a claim frequently made by proponents of these programs as evidence of their success (Coté, 2009). It is possible, however, to show a reduction in the number of complaints about street prostitution to the police by business and community members in a location, or to measure whether known prostitution offenders reoffend. Except, in both cases, this still is not evidence that the program was effective, because it could be that offenders are less likely to get caught a second time or that they learn to be more discreet, resulting in fewer complaints. An exemplary evaluability assessment template, an evaluation handbook, guidelines for selecting evaluators, and guidelines for an evaluation report can be downloaded from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (go to unodc.org and search for “Evaluability Assessment Template”).

Because programs are typically very costly to operate, questions concerning whether a program is effective sometimes translate into a cost-benefit analysis . A cost-benefit analysis is a method for systematically assessing the overall costs incurred by the program, including the ongoing costs needed to run the program such as wages paid to employees, rent for the building, and materials, versus outputs or program results, such as who benefited and how they benefited. Is the cost of the program justified, given the overall benefit to the clients or to the wider society? For example, the cost-benefit analysis of a sex-trade offender program might account for the financial costs of running the program for one year, including educational resources such as skilled facilitators, police personnel, and rental space for the classroom, in relation to the risk of the same number of men reoffending in the absence of the educational program. Or, a cost-benefit analysis might compare the financial costs and outcomes incurred by this program to other alternatives, such as criminal charges, fines, and vehicle seizures, to see whether the costs are warranted, given the benefits achieved. Sample questions include the following:

• How costly is this program (i.e., operating costs)?
• Are there ways to quantify the benefits of the program (e.g., into dollars saved)?
• How do various operating costs compare to alternative resources (e.g., wages)?
• How do the overall costs of the program compare to alternatives to the program?
• Are the costs of the program justified, given the overall benefits of the program?
• How do the costs and benefits of this program compare to alternate methods for dealing with the underlying social problem?

Carrying Out Evaluation Research

The process for carrying out evaluation research will vary depending on the type of evaluation, the exact program, and the evaluation objectives. However, an evaluation is generally going to proceed through these five stages as simplified here and depicted in figure 11.6:

• Engage with stakeholders who provide valuable input.
• Clarify the research problem—what question(s) are to be addressed in this evaluation?
• Establish evaluation criteria (the criteria the program is being evaluated against), including standards for indicating whether the program meets or fails to meet these criteria.
• Assess the program, including the selection of appropriate methods, data collection, and data analysis undertaken in order to measure performance against the established criteria.
• Provide the outcome, or the assessment or conclusion, reached in the evaluation.

Engaging with Stakeholders

Because a program is generally set up to provide a social service or resolve a particular social issue, a number of social relationships and roles exist within that program. For example, managers and other decision-makers supervise staff members who are responsible for delivering program services to intended target recipients. Social relationships involve stakeholders who need to be considered as part of the evaluation. Stakeholders include any individuals, groups, and/or organizations that are directly or indirectly involved with or impacted by the program of interest. For example, the target recipient of an intended service or intervention would be considered a primary stakeholder, as would employees involved in the operation of the program and groups that fund the program, such as program sponsors and donors. Stakeholders play a vital role in the creation, operation, and success of a program, and they are usually identified early on so that their input can be sought at various stages throughout an evaluation (Rossi et al., 2019).

For example, in an evaluation of a Canadian workplace-disability prevention intervention called Prevention and Early Active Return-to-work Safely (PEARS), Maiwald et al. (2011) sought feedback from three main groups of stakeholders: program designers, deliverers, and workers. The researchers used a variety of qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews, participatory observations, and focus group sessions. Although the three groups of stakeholders defined the causes of workplace disability similarly, they placed emphasis on different aspects. For example, the deliverers explained disability largely in terms of risk factors and individual-level causes, while workers emphasized the importance of the workplace and organization contributors. In addition, while they agreed on the importance of workplace safety and the belief that workplace interventions can have a positive effect on work disability, stakeholders had very different ideas about how the intervention should work in practice. Deliverers, for example, largely targeted individual-directed measures, while workers felt these measures offered only short-term benefits, rather than a sustainable long-term return-to-work solution.

From this example, it becomes apparent that while all stakeholders have a vested interest in how a program or initiative operates, they are unlikely to view the program similarly. While different perspectives clearly help an evaluator gain a richer understanding, they also add to the complexity of the evaluation, as it becomes less clear which features should be changed and which ones should be retained. Guba and Lincoln (1994) suggest that one of the primary purposes of an evaluation is to facilitate negotiations among stakeholders so that they can come to a common or shared construction of the social program. In addition, Rossi et al. (2004) point out that “even those evaluators who do a superb job of working with stakeholders and incorporating their views and concerns in the evaluation plan should not expect to be acclaimed as heroes by all when the results are in. The multiplicity of stakeholder perspectives makes it likely that no matter how the results come out, someone will be unhappy” (p. 43). While a necessary and vital element in all program evaluations, stakeholders also constitute one of the main challenges in evaluation research.

Evaluator’s Role in Relation to Stakeholders

Evaluation research designs can be quite simple or highly complex, depending on the nature of the program and the objectives of the evaluation. At a minimum, the design should specify the questions the evaluator seeks to answer, the methods that will be employed to answer the questions, and the nature of the relationship between the evaluator and the stakeholders. An evaluator is likely to assume one of two main roles in an evaluation. Either the evaluator works directly with the stakeholders, who are part of the evaluation team with the evaluator acting as the team lead, or the program evaluator conducts research independent from the stakeholders but still consults with them at various points to establish the evaluation criteria and to obtain information used in the evaluation. In the case of the former, the research is often called participatory action research, collaborative research, or community-based research because the researcher is literally participating with the stakeholders to help them evaluate their own program. While there are some obvious disadvantages to this approach—as stakeholders, who are typically the greatest proponents of the program, are now in charge of evaluating it—there are also merits. People with a vested interest are also likely to be those willing to commit their time and resources to a process that they feel is useful and is likely to lead to welcomed improvements. Compare this to an approach in which (often) underpaid and overworked stakeholders are asked to commit additional time and resources on behalf of an outsider who is paid to assess their program and then tell them what their issues are (Stoecker, 2013).

A program evaluation most often takes the form of an independent evaluation . An independent evaluation is one led by a researcher who is not part of the organization and who has no vested interested in that organization. The evaluator is not a stakeholder but a commissioned researcher who designs the study, conducts the evaluation, and shares the findings with stakeholders (Rossi et al., 2019). Although the evaluator is not a stakeholder, they will still need to work closely with various stakeholders since stakeholders provide valuable data and inadvertently set the agenda for the program evaluation through their vested interests. For example, funding agencies are interested in cost-benefit analyses and outcome measures since they want to know if a program is run efficiently from a cost perspective and whether the program met its intended objectives. In contrast, program managers are more concerned with questions pertaining to program monitoring since their vested interest has to do with how the program operates. Finally, in some cases, programs are examined and evaluated to determine where changes can and should be made, as discussed in a later section on action. As a final comment on evaluation research, it is important to be aware of how evaluation research takes place within a larger political framework that ultimately influenced how that program came to be, why it is currently being evaluated, and what will happen once the assessment is made available.

Canadian Evaluation Society

The Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) is a multidisciplinary association based on the advancement of evaluation theory and practice. The CES hosts an annual conference that serves as a forum for discussing current issues in evaluation. In addition, the CES and the Canadian Evaluation Society Educational Fund (CESEF) jointly host an annual Case Competition. In this student learning opportunity, teams compete for prizes and a trophy by first completing a preliminary round involving the analysis of a case file. Each team has six hours to complete their evaluation and submit it for judging. The highest-rated teams are invited to participate in the final round, held at the annual conference, where they receive a new case to evaluate and present their findings to a live audience.

Action Research

Action research , as its name implies, is a research strategy that attempts to better understand an area of interest in order to implement change within that area of interest. Greenwood and Levin (2007) define action research as “social research carried out by a team that encompasses a professional action researcher and the members of an organization, community, or network (‘stakeholders’) who are seeking to improve the participants’ situation” (p. 3). For example, action research is routinely employed in education, where it serves as a transformational methodology used to determine how to optimize learning strategies and programs so that they work best for students with a range of learning needs and skills. Multiple methods used to explore an issue can include interviews, focus groups, surveys, archival analysis, and the secondary analysis of existing data.

As a simplified illustration, a teacher might begin by identifying a problem or concern, such as students are having difficulty understanding an important concept, as evidenced by their grades on standard assessments as well as comments they have made in class. Once the problem is articulated via discussions with the class and in-depth interviews with a sample of students, the teacher needs to identify potential ways to resolve the issue. For example, other teachers might recommend strategies that have worked in their classrooms, there may be recommended strategies in the literature, and there may be potential solutions identified in the minutes from professional development meetings. After a period of reflection in which the teacher will consider potential options, they will then determine the course of action most suitable for this class and then implement it for a trial period. Following this, the teacher will need to evaluate the success of the strategy by reassessing students’ level of understanding on objective measures such as tests as well as through informal discussions with the students. Once the evaluation has occurred, the teacher can begin to consider how to change or modify future instruction based on what worked and did not work. See figure 11.7 for a summary of the logic underlying action research.

Action research is a continuous reflective, cyclical process that begins with observation, is followed by reflection, action, evaluation, modification, and then subsequent observation (McNiff, 2017). In this sense, action research generally involves a series of cycles as opposed to one phase of research. Going back to the earlier example, a teacher might try a learning strategy and then discover that is was only effective for certain students. In this case, another action cycle will begin. The second cycle will retain successes of the first phase and add in a new course of action to try to further improve upon the learning environment. For instructors who strive to continuously improve upon their teaching, the action cycle can continue indefinitely (see figure 11.8).

The purpose of action research is not only to improve conditions, but to empower participants, since it is the stakeholders who participate directly in identifying the issues and means for resolving them. For this reason, action research is sometimes referred to as participatory action research. McKenzie et al. (1995) relied upon participatory action research to examine child welfare problems and practices in eight Manitoba First Nations communities. During the first phase of the study, focus groups and interviews were conducted with more than 200 individuals, including Elders, Chiefs, and Council members; biological parents, foster parents, and homemakers; local child and family service committee members as well as community staff members; and youth between the ages of 13 and 18. After common themes were identified in the responses provided, the researchers engaged in a second round of consultation in order to evaluate and validate the findings.

Consistent with the literature on Indigenous people, one of the common themes that emerged from this study was a traditional extended view of family that included aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. In addition, along with concerns about the provision of good emotional and physical care and guidance, participants identified the common need to include the teaching of traditional values, language, and customs as part of the definition of what is in the “best interests of the child.” Another main finding was that in cases where there are indicators of inadequate care, support should be provided to that family such that potential solutions are enacted within the family setting (McKenzie et al., 1995).

The Canadian Journal of Action Research

The Canadian Journal of Action Research is a free (“open access”) full-text journal dedicated to action research for educators. Here, instructors and administrators share articles, book reviews, and notes from the field.

• What is case study research?
• For what reasons might a researcher choose a single-case study design over a multiple-case design?
• What is an independent evaluation?
• Why is it important to consult stakeholders in evaluation research?
• What is action research?
• What questions can be posed to depict the underlying logic of action research?
• What are the main steps in the process for carrying out an action research cycle?

CHAPTER SUMMARY

• Compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative approaches are based in the positivist paradigm and tend to be focused on objective methods that are based on deductive reasoning. Research questions are usually stated as hypotheses, and data collection is carried out in experiments, surveys, or certain forms of unobtrusive methods, such as the analysis of existing data. Quantitative methods are highly reliable but may be lacking in validity since findings from highly controlled experiments are difficult to generalize to the real world. Qualitative approaches, in contrast, tend to be based in the interpretive paradigm that emphasizes subjectivity and inductive reasoning. Research questions tend to be broad, and methods for data collection can include in-depth interviews, participant observations, and focus groups, as well as various forms of unobtrusive methods, such as content analysis. Qualitative methods tend to be higher in validity but lack reliability.
• Define mixed-methods approach, explain why a researcher might opt for a mixed-methods design, and differentiate between mixed-method designs. A mixed-methods approach always entails an explicit combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, as framed by the research objectives. Mixed methods can be useful for establishing the validity of measures and findings. For example, the results obtained in an experiment might be clarified by the results obtained via qualitative interviewing. In addition, mixed methods are useful for development purposes, such as when a researcher uses focus group findings to help inform categories that will later be used on a questionnaire. In a convergent design , both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed at the same time with equal priority. In an explanatory design , a quantitative method is employed first and then the findings are followed up on using a qualitative method. In an exploratory design , a qualitative method is prioritized and then, based on the findings from the qualitative study, the researcher develops and subsequently employs a quantitative method.
• Define case study research and explain why a researcher might choose a single-case design over a multiple-case study. Case study research is research on a small number of individuals or an organization carried out over an extended period. A researcher might opt for a single-case study if the case selected represents a critical case for testing a theory, if the case is common, if the case represents an extreme, if the case constitutes a rare opportunity, or if the researcher wishes to conduct a longitudinal analysis.
• Define evaluation research and explain what an evaluation design entails. Evaluation research is research undertaken to assess whether a program or policy is effective in reaching its desired goals and objectives. At a minimum, an evaluation design outlines the questions of interest, the methods for obtaining answers, and the nature of the relationship between researchers and stakeholders.
• Define action research, describe the underlying logic of action research, and identify the steps in an action research cycle. Action research is a research strategy that directly involves stakeholders to better understand an area of interest and to bring about improvement. The logic underlying action research centres on identifying a concern, determining what can be done about it, implementing an action, determining whether the action helped, and evaluating what was learned as a result. The process for carrying out action research entails observation, reflection, action, evaluation, and modification.

RESEARCH REFLECTION

• Suppose you are interested in studying one program that is specifically geared toward students at the school you are currently attending. As a case study, provide rationale for examining this program using a single-case design.
• If you were going to conduct an organizational case study of the school you are currently attending, describe two methods that you would use to collect suitable data.
• If you were going to conduct a Bachelor of Arts degree program evaluation, what three questions would you pose to help focus the evaluation? In other words, what three questions do you think should be answered in the evaluation?
• Thinking of the community in which you live, identify one main social issue that could be examined using participatory action research. Create a list of stakeholders you would include in a study designed to help address the social issue.

LEARNING THROUGH PRACTICE

Objective: To learn how to conduct case study research

Directions:

• Identify a local restaurant or coffee shop that you enjoy going to.
• Describe some of the features that lead you to enjoy this restaurant.
• Thinking of other restaurants or similar service providers, is this a typical case or more of an outlier? Explain your answer.
• Visit the restaurant and conduct an observation to see if there is anything else you wish to add to your description.
• How could you go about proving your claims?
• How could you find out if others share similar views?
• List and describe three methods you could use to help substantiate your description of what makes this restaurant special.
• Based on the methods you selected and the potential order in which you could employ these methods, would your resulting design be best described as a mixed-methods design or a design that includes the use of multiple methods?

RESEARCH RESOURCES

• For information on more advanced mixed-methods designs, see Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2023). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches (6th ed.). Sage.
• To learn more about designing case study research, refer to Hancock, D. R., Algozzine, B., & Lim, J. H. (2021). Doing case study research: A practical guide for beginning researchers (4th ed.). Teachers College Press.
• For a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary, international journal on the theory and practice of action research, see Sage’s Action Research .
• To learn whether the benefits outweighed the costs of Canada’s vaccination program for Covid-19, see Tuite, A. R. et al. (2023). Quantifying the economic gains associated with Covid-19 vaccination in the Canadian population: A cost-benefit analysis . Canada Communicable Disease Report , 49 (6), 263–273.

A research design that includes an explicit combination of qualitative and quantitative methods as framed by the research objectives.

A mixed-method design in which qualitative and quantitative methods are employed concurrently, with independent data collection and analysis compared in the final interpretation.

A mixed-method design which a quantitative method is employed first and then the findings are followed up on using a qualitative method.

A mixed-method design in which a qualitative method is employed first and then the findings are used to help develop a subsequent quantitative-method–based phase.

A case study strategy that focuses on only one person, organization, event, or program as the unit of analysis, as emphasized by the research objectives.

A case study strategy that focuses on two or more persons, organizations, events, or programs selected for the explicit purpose of comparison.

A systematic evaluation focused on improving an existing condition through the identification of a problem and a means for addressing it.

A systematic method for collecting and analyzing information used to answer questions about a program of interest.

A method for assessing the overall costs incurred by a program relative to outcome measures.

An individual, group, or organization that is directly or indirectly involved with or impacted by the program of interest.

An evaluation that is headed up by a researcher who is not a primary stakeholder for the program under consideration.

Social research carried out by a team that encompasses a professional action researcher and the members of an organization, community, or network (stakeholders) who are seeking to improve the participants’ situation.

Research Methods: Exploring the Social World in Canadian Context Copyright © 2024 by Diane Symbaluk & Robyn Hall is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Your saved search, create a file for external citation management software, your rss feed, the potential of alternatives to face-to-face consultation in general practice, and the impact on different patient groups: a mixed-methods case study, affiliations.

• 1 Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
• 2 Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
• 3 Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
• 4 Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
• 5 Collaboration for Academic Primary Care (APEx), University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
• 6 Health and Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
• PMID: 29889485
• Bookshelf ID: NBK507060
• DOI: 10.3310/hsdr06200

Background: There is international interest in the potential role of different forms of communication technology to provide an alternative to face-to-face consultations in health care. There has been considerable rhetoric about the need for general practices to offer consultations by telephone, e-mail or internet video. However, little is understood about how, under what conditions, for which patients and in what ways these approaches may offer benefits to patients and practitioners in general practice.

Objectives: Our objectives were to review existing evidence about alternatives to face-to-face consultation; conduct a scoping exercise to identify the ways in which general practices currently provide these alternatives; recruit eight general practices as case studies for focused ethnographic research, exploring how practice context, patient characteristics, type of technology and the purpose of the consultation interact to determine the impact of these alternatives; and synthesise the findings in order to develop a website resource about the implementation of alternatives to face-to-face consultations and a framework for subsequent evaluation.

Design: Mixed-methods case study.

Setting: General practices in England and Scotland with varied experience of implementing alternatives to face-to-face consultations.

Participants: Patients and practice staff.

Interventions: Alternatives to face-to-face consultations include telephone consultations, e-mail, e-consultations and internet video.

Main outcome measures: How context influenced the implementation and impact of alternatives to the face-to-face consultation; the rationale for practices to introduce alternatives; the use of different forms of consultation by different patient groups; and the intended benefits/outcomes.

Review methods: The conceptual review used an approach informed by realist review, a method for synthesising research evidence regarding complex interventions.

Results: Alternatives to the face-to-face consultation are not in mainstream use in general practice, with low uptake in our case study practices. We identified the underlying rationales for the use of these alternatives and have shown that different stakeholders have different perspectives on what they hope to achieve through the use of alternatives to the face-to-face consultation. Through the observation of real-life use of different forms of alternative, we have a clearer understanding of how, under what circumstances and for which patients alternatives might have a range of intended benefits and potential unintended adverse consequences. We have also developed a framework for future evaluation.

Limitations: The low uptake of alternatives to the face-to-face consultation means that our research participants might be deemed to be early adopters. The case study approach provides an in-depth examination of a small number of sites, each using alternatives in different ways. The findings are therefore hypothesis-generating, rather than hypothesis-testing.

Conclusions: The current low uptake of alternatives, lack of clarity about purpose and limited evidence of benefit may be at odds with current policy, which encourages the use of alternatives. We have highlighted key issues for practices and policy-makers to consider and have made recommendations about priorities for further research to be conducted, before or alongside the future roll-out of alternatives to the face-to-face consultation, such as telephone consulting, e-consultation, e-mail and video consulting.

Future work: We have synthesised our findings to develop a framework and recommendations about future evaluation of the use of alternatives to face-to-face consultations.

Funding details: The National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme.

Copyright © Queen’s Printer and Controller of HMSO 2018. This work was produced by Atherton et al. under the terms of a commissioning contract issued by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. This issue may be freely reproduced for the purposes of private research and study and extracts (or indeed, the full report) may be included in professional journals provided that suitable acknowledgement is made and the reproduction is not associated with any form of advertising. Applications for commercial reproduction should be addressed to: NIHR Journals Library, National Institute for Health Research, Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre, Alpha House, University of Southampton Science Park, Southampton SO16 7NS, UK.

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• Plain English summary
• Scientific summary
• Chapter 1. Introduction
• Chapter 2. Conceptual review
• Chapter 3. Scoping study
• Chapter 4. Focused ethnographic case studies, methodology and description of sites
• Chapter 5. Case study results
• Chapter 6. Collection and analysis of routine consultation data
• Chapter 7. Synthesis and framework for future evaluation
• Chapter 8. Discussion
• Acknowledgements
• Appendix 1. Search strategies used in the conceptual review
• Appendix 2. Matrix template for the conceptual review
• Appendix 3. Conceptual review: list of relevant articles identified in the search
• Appendix 4. Case study guide
• Appendix 5. Topic guides for semistructured interviews
• Appendix 6. Description of the case study practices
• Appendix 7. Staff interview participant characteristics
• Appendix 8. Patient interview participant characteristics
• Appendix 9. Issues related to the recording of consultations in routine general practice computer systems
• Appendix 10. Data collection sheet to assess the reliability of recording of alternative consultation types
• Appendix 11. Clusters of diseases used to create a multimorbidity score
• Appendix 12. Recoding the consultation type in each case study practice
• Appendix 13. Recoding professional type in each case study practice
• Appendix 14. Demographic details of patients by practice
• Appendix 15. Prevalence of conditions in study practices and nationally
• Appendix 16. Prevalence of conditions by practice: patients aged ≥ 18 years
• Appendix 17. Proportion of patients with multimorbidities in different age groups (aged ≥ 18 years)
• Appendix 18. Consultation rates (all practices) by type of consultation and type of professional
• Appendix 19. Rates of different types of consultation by age group, sex, deprivation, ethnicity and multimorbidity
• Appendix 20. Rates of different types of consultation by number of morbidities: natural units and logarithmic scale
• Appendix 21. Consultations and reconsultations with general practitioner only
• Appendix 22. An outline of the structure of the web resource
• List of abbreviations

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• Using alternatives to face-to-face consultations: a survey of prevalence and attitudes in general practice. Brant H, Atherton H, Ziebland S, McKinstry B, Campbell JL, Salisbury C. Brant H, et al. Br J Gen Pract. 2016 Jul;66(648):e460-6. doi: 10.3399/bjgp16X685597. Epub 2016 May 23. Br J Gen Pract. 2016. PMID: 27215571 Free PMC article.
• Alternatives to the face-to-face consultation in general practice: focused ethnographic case study. Atherton H, Brant H, Ziebland S, Bikker A, Campbell J, Gibson A, McKinstry B, Porqueddu T, Salisbury C. Atherton H, et al. Br J Gen Pract. 2018 Apr;68(669):e293-e300. doi: 10.3399/bjgp18X694853. Epub 2018 Jan 29. Br J Gen Pract. 2018. PMID: 29378697 Free PMC article.
• Informing NHS policy in ‘digital-first primary care’: a rapid evidence synthesis. Rodgers M, Raine G, Thomas S, Harden M, Eastwood A. Rodgers M, et al. Southampton (UK): NIHR Journals Library; 2019 Dec. Southampton (UK): NIHR Journals Library; 2019 Dec. PMID: 31869020 Free Books & Documents. Review.
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How to... Use ethnographic methods & participant observation

Find out how to use ethnographic research methods and participant observation in our detailed guide.

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What are ethnographic methods, organisational ethnography, what is participant observation , analysing, theorising and writing up.

Ethnographic methods are a research approach where you look at people in their cultural setting, with the goal of producing a narrative account of that particular culture, against a theoretical backdrop. As part of this you will look at:

• Deeds done as well as words used
• How they interact with one another, and with their social and cultural environment
• What is  not  said as much as what is said
• Language, and symbols, rituals and shared meanings that populate their world

Ethnography is a study of culture, therefore, organisational ethnography looks at the culture of organisations.

Organisational culture exists within the minds of the people who make up that organisation, while organisational ethnography is concerned with settings within which social relations take place between actors who are set on particular goals.

This culture evolves over time, contains dominant cultures and subcultures, and is subject to its own rules, rites, myths and symbols.

History of ethnographic methods

Ethnography has its origins in social anthropology, and in particular, the work of Malinowski whose seminal text  Argonauts of the Western Pacific  describes his experience of living for a long time with South Pacific islanders, and counsels the anthropologist to spend at least a year in the field, to learn the language, and to live as one of the population which he or she studies.

It was taken over by sociology in the 1930s when the Chicago school studied "deviant subcultures" in urban America in the great depression.

Early ethnographers were criticized for their detached stance, particularly by feminist anthropologists, but recent adaptations of the method use it in action research, where the study population itself becomes involved in the request for information and meaning.

Research parameters

Ethnographic methods are qualitative, inductive, exploratory and longitudinal. They achieve a thick, rich description over a relatively small area.

As the researcher, it is best if you conduct your data gathering on an iterative basis, with you taking on a "reflexive" role – in other words observing, reflecting, building up a theory and then going back into the field and testing it.

This process of testing is essential, because of the inevitable element of subjectivity in a research method where you, the researcher, is the instrument.

There are a number of practical considerations with ethnographic methods, such as:

• Time.  Studies are time-consuming to complete. If you are looking at making ethnography one of your approaches for a dissertation, will you have sufficient time before the completion date? If part of a major research project, will the project bear the costs?
• Place.  You need to make sure that you can get the cooperation of the organisation you wish to observe and decide whether you want to look at the whole organisation, one part of it or a cross-section.

Data collection methods and triangulation

Most ethnographic research makes considerable use of participant observation, usually triangulated with interviews and/or ordinary "informal" conversations.

Triangulation is particularly important as one method on its own is not usually reliable.

You can also gain a lot of information from other sources, such as:

• Written documents , e.g. e-mails, policy documents, meeting minutes, organisation charts, reports, procedural manuals, "official" corporate material such as an intranet, brochures, press releases, advertising, web pages, annual report.
• Corporate events  like the annual staff conference and Christmas party, etc.
• Branding  – logo and how it is applied, slogan, etc. Branding is a particularly strong use of symbolism.
• Site location , built environment, design, etc.

Another method used is that of the diary, which participants are required to complete (you will also be completing a diary as part of your participant observation.

This may either have set categories as in structured observation, or the participant may be required to keep a record of their experiences (for example, their reactions to a training course) or of what they do.

Participant observation is one of the main ethnographic data collection methods.

The essence of participant observation is that you, as the researcher, observe the subject of research, either by participating directly in the action, as a member of the study population, or as a "pure" observer, in which case you do not participate in the action but are still present on the scene, for example observing workers in a manufacturing plant or discussants in the board room.

In either case, you observe, note, record, describe, analyse, and interpret people and their interactions, and related events, with the objective of obtaining a systematic account of behaviour and idea systems of a given community, organisation or institution.

Why use participant observation?

Like other ethnographic methods, participant observation is very much based on the classic methods used in early anthropology, by Malinowski and others as they studied particular populations, often for years at a time, taking detailed notes.

Participant observation is usually inductive, and carried out as part of an exploratory research phase, with the view of forming hypotheses from the data. It is often connected with the  grounded theory  method, according to which researchers revisit the research territory with deeper and deeper knowledge.

The strength of participant observation is its ability to describe depth (thick description) and to help understand human behaviour.

Researcher roles

There is a continuum in observation techniques between the covert and the overt observer, and the observer who participates completely in the activity and the one who is purely a "fly on the wall".

There are problems with all these approaches, but the ideal is to ensure that the maximum amount of information is gained whilst at the same time retaining the maximum distance in order to ensure researcher objectivity.

Which role is adopted would depend on the subject being researched, for example:

• Complete participant.  There are obvious ethical considerations of being part of a group and not revealing your role as a researcher who will subsequently write up the research study, but in some circumstances revealing your role might prejudice the research, particularly if the subject concerns something delicate such as the consumption of alcohol or drugs.
• Complete observer.  This might be appropriate to a situation where the subject is relatively large-scale, for example observing people in a shopping mall or in a supermarket, or where the revelation of the role might destroy the dynamics of small group behaviour, as for example watching the behaviour of groups of shoppers.
• Observer as participant.  The disadvantage here is that although you participate in some way in the activity, you lose the emotional involvement, but the advantage is that you can concentrate on your role as a researcher. It might be used if you were, for example, observing people on a training course, or users of electronic courseware, where it was very important to understand the reactions and mental processes of the participants rather than what they do.
• Participant as observer.  The advantage of participating is that you become fully part of the group, and you can experience directly what your subjects are experiencing. It is particularly useful when for example you need to understand work practices or job roles.

There are other possible roles for the observer:

• As  facilitator  and  change agent , when you become involved not merely as a participant but as someone who seeks to help subjects change some aspect of their world, for example in action research.
• As a  narrator , describing what you have witnessed from a position of authority.

Structured observation

Structured observation differs from participant observation in that it is more detached, more systematic, and what is observed often has a more mechanical quality. It is also a quantitative as opposed to a qualitative technique, concerned with quantifying behaviour as opposed to obtaining a rich description.

Advantages and disadvantages

Participant observation is not without its detractors and is seen to have a number of advantages and disadvantages:

• It can provide very rich data and can be particularly good at revealing facets of human behaviour.
• It does not rely on the words of the actors themselves, so is not dependent on people's ability to verbalize, and provides a source other than their own testimony.
• Issues of time and researcher objectivity can be met by careful use of sampling, whereby observation is confined to particular locations and times.
• All research techniques have inbuilt problems of bias: for example, the interviewer effect, and the difficulty of formulating careful survey questions.

Disadvantages

• Because the researcher is the instrument, there may be difficulty in maintaining the necessary objectivity.
• Good participant observation takes up a lot of time.
• It requires intimacy and an invasion of privacy which may be disruptive both to the research process and also to the organisation itself. On the other hand, concealing one's identity is ethically questionable as it involves a deception.
• Observer bias: the observer's own views and personal beliefs may impinge upon observations.

However, the best way of using participant observation in a useful and responsible way is to triangulate it with other approaches.

Applications to management research

Participant observation is based on the social sciences, particularly social anthropology and on the premise that you go and study a different, and often remote culture.

The appeal to management research is that it can study the culture of an organisation in depth. However, in many cases it is simply not practical to immerse oneself for months at a time: the cost would be too great, the organisation may not be willing, and one cannot actually live with the workers. For this reason,  time sampling  is often adopted, where the times at which observation takes place are carefully selected.

Use in market research

Participant observation is particularly useful in market research. It is a natural technique as both are concerned with human behaviour. It can be a good method when:

• The subject under study is easily observable and occurs in public
• It concerns a social process or mass activity, such as the disposal of household waste
• The processes are subconscious, for example in a study of in-store music
• It would not be desirable or easy for consumers to interact with the researcher, for example with very young children.

Data collection

Observations should be recorded as far as is possible on the day of the fieldwork, in diary form, and should comprise the following:

• Time of day
• Actors present
• Sequence of events, and any interruptions.
• Secondary observations  in the form of any statements by others about what you observed.
• Experiential data  as relating to your own state of mind, emotions and any reflections.
• Circumstantial and background data  about the organisation, key roles etc.

Analysis of unstructured data

What distinguishes the analysis of ethnographically generated data is that the research process is inductive and iterative.

Unlike the neatly linear trajectory of some other research, when you construct an instrument to prove a theory and do not analyse until you have collected all the data, in ethnographic research data collection and analysis may be simultaneous, while theories are formed on the basis of some data and then tested and refined against further data. This process is known as  analytic induction .

When you begin to collect data, you will find very soon that you get a lot. This is the time to begin an initial analysis. As you start the coding process, begin to look for groupings, based on frequency and patterns of and in the data. As you refine your  coding structure , check your assumptions carefully. Eventually, you will reach a point where you are relatively confident of your coding structure and you can begin to use it as a way of organising your data.

There are a number of  software packages  –  NVivo, QSR NUD.IST  and  The Ethnograph  for example – that can help here, or you may prefer to use an ordinary office package such as Word or Excel. Some of the software packages also offer modelling facilities.

Whatever method you use, at this stage patterns will begin to emerge from which you will be able to build theory.

Analysis of structured data

The analysis of structured observation data is different in that the coding schedule is established before the start of data collection. In this case you either:

• establish your own headings, which should be consistent with your research questions
• follow an existing "off the shelf" coding schedule
• use a combination of these approaches, modifying an existing schedule and perhaps putting in some of your own headings.

The fact that data are situation specific and not easy to replicate, together with the possibility of observer bias, are threats to validity with unstructured observation.

These threats can be dealt with by:

• Checking the observations, and interpretations of them, with participants, as a form of triangulation.
• Checking the coding structure, which can be done by the researcher checking against emerging theory, and other researchers coding the data to see if they come up with similar coding structures.
• "Perspicacity" – the ability to abstract from the data general principles that can throw light on other similar situations.

Theory building

The literature review is commonly done at the beginning of the research process. But with ethnographic research, it often follows (at least some) data collection and analysis – because it is connected with theory building.

In ethnographic research, the researcher is often compared with a journalist researching a story and looking for promising lines of enquiry. As the data are being collected and patterns start to emerge, so may interesting lines of enquiry on which theories can be built.

The objective of the theory is not to predict, but to explain, to look for contextual structures and to provide a context for events, conversations and descriptions. You are providing an explanatory framework for the phenomena which you have been observing.

As indicated above, once you have formulated a theory you need to check it against the data, and check the data against itself – how valid is it?

The theory also needs to be situated in the relevant literature, and have its own theoretical context.

For a dissertation , you should follow the guidelines of your own university and check out other dissertations which have used similar research techniques.

A traditional approach, however, is introduction, literature review, philosophical approach and methodology, findings, analysis, discussion and conclusion.

For a journal article , you are best advised to look carefully at other examples of articles written for scholarly journals, particularly ones in which you are thinking of publishing.

Ethnographic research allows us to regard and represent the actors as creators as well as executants of their own meanings. The very way in which they tell us about what they do tells the researcher a great deal about what is meaningful for and in the research. It adds richness and texture to the experience of conducting research.

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