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Qualitative research: another way of knowledge production
in environmental psychology
Dr. Esther Wiesenfeld Institute of Psychology
Central University of Venezuela
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OBJETIVE OF THE WORKSHOP:
•PRESENT SOME BASIC NOTIONS, ASSUMPTIONS,
CHARACTERISTICS AND DESIGN COMPONENTS OF QR
• ILLUSTRATE THEM WITH AN EXAMPLE OF A QR RESEARCH
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ONTOLOGY: WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE “KNOWAVLE”? OR, WHAT
IS THE NATURE OF “REALITY”?
EPISTEMOLOGY: WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN THE KNOWER (THE INQUIRER) AND THE KNOW (OR
KNOWABLE)?
METHODOLOGY: HOW SHOULD THE INQUIRER GO ABOUT FINDING
OUT KNOWLEDGE?
PARADIGM DIMENSIONS
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Item Positivism Constructivism
Ontology Naïve realism- “real” reality but apprehendable
Relativism – local and specific constructed realities
Epistemology Dualist/objetivist; findings true Transactional/ subjectivist; created findings
Methodology Experimental/ manipulative; verification of hypotheses; chiefly quantitative methods
Hermeneútical/ dialectical
BASIC BELIEFS OF ALTERNATIVE INQUIRY PARADIGMS
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CHARACTERISTICS OF SC
1. Denies objectivity of psychological theories.
2. Rejects existence of external reality, independent of our mode of
accessing it
3. Rejects objectivity as a privileged way for studying reality
4. Acknowledges that experience is richer than words
5. Holistic approach to phenomena
6. Admits ambiguity versus certainty in understanding phenomena
7. Relativist ontology
8. Transactional subjectivist epistemology
9. Qualitative methodology (hermeneutic)
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NOTION OF REALITY
1. SC which meanings are elaborated in social practice through interaction and
discursive practices
2. Meaning: Social system that allows organizing experience, knowledge, social
transactions and to interpret them by means of cultural symbols such as
language, narratives, life patterns,. It articulates with particularities of the
situation
3. Reality does not posses qualities of its own, but the ones we construct based
on our experiences in it
4. The reading we make of reality incorporates in it its constitutive
characteristics (we confer what we interpret , based on our social practices)
5. What we take as natural objects are objectivations derived from sociohistoric
practices in a particular context
6. Interpretations (constructions) are historic
7. ................................ multiple
8. ................................ relative
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OBJECTIVE OF CONSTRUCTIONISM
Deconstruct dominant discourses
Enrich constructions through dialog
Incorporate silent voices
Systematize knowledge of everyday life
Social emancipation
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QR DEFINITIONS
LINCOLN (1992)
…qualitative methods are generally those nonquantitative methods that
attempt to grasp phenomena in some holistic way or to understand a
phenomenon within its own context or to emphasise the inmersion in and
comprehension of human meaning ascribed to some set of circumstances or
phenomena, or all these three (p.376).
DENZIN & LINCOLN (1994)
“Qualitative research is multimethod in focus, involving a interpretative,
naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative
researchers study things in their natural setting, attempting to make sense of,
or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them” (p.2).
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ARRANGEMENT OF ELEMENTS WHICH GOVERN FUNCTIONING OF RESEARCH
ITS THE LOGIC AND COHERENCE OF THE STUDY OF RESEARCH COMPONENTS AND WAYS THEY RELATE
STRUCTURE WHICH UNDERLIES AND INTERCONNECTS RESEARCH COMPONENTS AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF EACH COMPONENT FOR THE REST
DEFINITIONS OF DESIGN
DESIGN
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Conceptualcontext
Purpose Personalcontext
Objectives Evaluationcriteria
Methods
Research questions/topic
Adapted from Maxwell (1996).
QR DESIGN AS INTERACTION
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When moving is more than changing homes:
Relocation from the perspective of homeless due to Venezuelan 1999 landslides
Esther Wiesenfeld (Central University of Venezuela)
Anabel Amaro (National Fund for Urban Development) ewiesen@reacciun.ve
EXAMPLE :
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INTRODUCTION
Every year during the rainy season, Venezuela undergoes landslides and
floods, resulting in material and human losses, especially in squatter
settlements. The 1999 tragedy, however, was unprecedented in the country’s
history.
The rain left tens of thousands of families homeless while a similar number
of people were killed. Different agencies implemented, disorganized at first,
actions to mobilize the victims to temporary shelters, and eventually, to a
final relocation in housing complexes.
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
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PERSONAL CONTEXT :
1. PROFESSIONAL DEMANDS OF COAUTHOR (AND MASTER STUDENT) AMARO FOR
EVALUATING NEW SETTLEMENTS BUILT FOR HOMELESS DUE TO 1999 FLOODS
2. MY RESEARCH LINE FOR MANY YEARS
FAMILIARIZATION WITH AFFECTED POPULATION: EXPERIENCE OF BOTH AUTHORS
WITH HOMELESS POPULATIONS, PARTICULARLY HAVING BEEN INVOLVED IN
ATTENTION TO VICTIMS AND THEIR ORGANIZATION IN TEMPORARY SHELTERS, AS
WELLL AS FUTURE RELOCATION.
FAMILARIZATION WITH RESEARCH TOPIC: PREVIOUS STUDIES WITH POPULATIONS
SIMILAR TO MOST HOMELESS FAMILIES, LIVING IN SQUATTER SETTLEMENTS,
PARTICULARLY ON THE MEANING OF BECOMING HOMELESS, WORKING TOGETHER
WITH THEM IN SELF HELP BUILDING PROJECTS, ETC.
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
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3. ACADEMIC DEMANDS: MASTER THESIS
4. SOCIAL DEMANDS
EVENTS: PROTEST AND DEMANDS TO GOVERNMENT FROM
RELOCATED FAMILIES DUE TO INADEQUATE LIVING CONDITIONS IN
NEW SETTLEMENTS
PERSONAL CONTEXT :
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
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BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Results of studies on housing post occupancy evaluation and
on the meanings of home suggest that physical and
environmental features of the house and the neighborhood are
necessary –though not sufficient- conditions to guarantee
residential satisfaction and the evolvement of a sense of home.
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
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BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY (cont.)
Community participation (CP), has been a key factor for
strengthening social bonds in the communities, through the
inclusion of their members in different actions that, apart from
solving their specific problems, promote their personal and social
identity, their sense of belonging to a community, attachment,
individual and group empowerment, and the development of
sustainable communities.
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
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BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY (cont.)
Several projects conducted in Venezuela in self-help built squatter
settlements, like the neighborhoods most hit by the 1999 tragedy, support
the notion that, parallel to the participation in the construction of housing
and services, dwellers develop and grow stronger as persons and as
communities, creating emotional bonds with their neighbors and their
milieu.
There is little information in our context on the experience of definite
relocations, especially in circumstances as the 1999 natural disaster.
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK:
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM (SC)
SC is a metatheoretical perspective that conceives of reality as
constructions derived from experiences and exchanges of people
interacting in a given historical context. The resulting knowledge is used to
promote social change, with the leading role of groups or communities.
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
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CONCEPTUAL CONTEXT
IN QR CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK SERVES TO LEARN HOW THE TOPIC
HAS BEEN DEALT WITH IN THE LITERATURE: TO EXAMINE THE
APPROACHES FROM WHICH KNOWLEDGE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED.
SEEKS TO OPEN THE RESEARCH TOPIC INCORPORATING ACTOR´S
PERSPECTIVE
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
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PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
• Understand the experience lived by homeless, from 1999
Venezuelan landslides relocated in housing programs
developed by FONDUR (National Fund for Urban
Development), before, during and after the natural disaster,
including the final relocation. The latter is the focus of this
presentation.
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
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PURPOSE OF THE STUDY (cont.)
• Promote, alongside collecting information, processes of critical
reflection, which trigger actions and eventual transformations in
the adverse living conditions identified by the victims.
• Derive recommendations for disaster victims´ care and
relocation, compatible with their needs and lifestyles.
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
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Knowledge about the topic
Experience with the topic
Doubts, fears, crises with the topic
History of relation with the topic
Personal context
DESIGN OF QRComponents in QR design
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Conversation on the topic
What is being dealt with ?
Who is talking?
From which perspectives are
they talking ?
What do they say ? What would you criticise about
the conversation?
Critical organization of concepts, project and research data, of conversations with other researchers or participants. Conceptual
context is constructed; it is not an authority.
DESIGN OF QR (Cont.):
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Purpose of the study (Justification of research guides design decisions)
Understand meanings, interpret events, actions... (participants
perspectives)
Understand particular contexts
Understand processesIdentify unanticipated
phenomena and influences
DESIGN OF QRComponents in QR design
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• Understand the meaning for participants in the study, of the events, situations and actions they are involved with and the accounts that they give of their lives and experiences (meaning understood as affection, cognition, intentions and any other information related to participants´perspectives.)
• Understanding the particular context within which the participants act, and the influence that this context has on their actions.
• Identifying unanticipated phenomena and influences, and generating new grounded theories about the alter. (exploratory studies)
• Understanding the process by which events and actions take place:• Developing causal explanations (local causality, events and processes which lead to specific results)
1 RESEARCH PURPOSES (Understand what is happening and why):
• Generating results and theories that are understandable and experientially credible , both to
the people you are studying and to others.
• Conducting formative evaluations (helping improve practice, rather than evaluating the merit
of a program or product)
• Engaging in collaborative or action research with practitioners or research participants
2 PRACTICAL PURPOSES (Fulfill goals, needs, change situations)
PURPOSES OF STUDY:
3 PERSONAL PURPOSES(Understand personal processes and motivations in carrying out the study)
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The study was conducted in three residential settlements built or purchased by FONDUR.
CONTEXT OF THE STUDY
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
NSV DA (Sector I)
SA (Sector II)
Number of houses
100 111 200
Plot
120
180
144.4
Sqm (House)
44.33 44.41 42
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CONTEXT
All the houses laid out in these sectors have
two bedrooms, one bathroom, and one space
combining living room, dining room and
kitchen.
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
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RELATION WITH PARTICIPANTS OF THE STUDY GETTING ACQUAINTED
SEVERAL VISITS TO THE SETTLEMENTS, DONE WITH THE
PURPOSE OF SUPERVISING HOUSING CONDITIONS AND
NEIGHBORHOOD FACILITIES ALLOWED FAMILIARIZATION WITH
THE RESIDENTS, DEVELOPMENT OF TRUST WITH THE
RESEARCHERS. INFORMATION EXCHANGED IN THESE VISITS
ORIENTED RESEARCHERS IN THE FORMULATION OF THE
RESEARCH PROBLEM.
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
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Rapport and negotiation.
Negotiation on anonymity, privacy, utility of research for participants, researcher´s involvement.
DESIGN OF QR
Components of QR
Methods.1) Relation with participants.
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RESEARCH QUESTION
WHAT ARE THE MEANINGS CONSTRUCTED BY THE VICTIMS
OF THE 1999 VENEZUELAN FLOODS ON THEIR EXPERIENCE
OF RELOCATION IN NEW SETTLEMENTS?
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
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Research (or “problem”) questions
Molding : Purpose, conceptual context and personal context.
Concept of research question
Does not refer to variables´ relations Questions: Processes vs. Variance.
Origin: In the field, experience, literature
Start as general and then focus
DESIGN OF QRComponents to take into account in QR
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DESIGN OF QR
Components in QR
Changes throughout research
Research objectives (purpose
specification).
General statements on
desired achievements
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EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
Gender NSV DA SA Total
Male 9
5
1
15
Female 2 5
7
14
Total 11
10
8
29
Nº OF INFORMANTS BY SETTLEMENT
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Sampling for participants selection.
DESIGN OF QRComponents in QR design
Methods2) Sampling.
Decisions regarding units of analysis.
Selected units:
Sampling for context selection
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intentional sampling
- Adequacy to diversity of
constructions
- It is emergent
- Serial selection.
- Periodic change of sample
- Redundancy.
QR DESIGNComponents in QR design
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DATA GATHERING METHODS
The information was collected through semi-structured interviews (i) and
focus groups (fg).
The main topic in the interview was the residential experience in the
current settlement. In the three focus groups the theme was the
description and discussion of the problems in their respective settlements
and what it meant to them to be relocated.
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
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INFORMANTS OF THE STUDY
NSV DA SA Total
i 6(6m)
5 (1m,4f)
3(3f)
14 (7m, 7f)
Fg (#inf)
5(3m,2f)
5(4m,1f)
5(1m,4f)
15 (8m,7f)
Total 11 (9m,2f)
10(5m,5f)
8(1m,7f)
29(15m,14f)
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
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•Narrative way.Own vocabulary
•Subject´s temporal sequence•New constructions•Documentation of group history for its diffusion
DESIGN IN QRComponents in QR design
Methods. 3) Information gathering.
Related to research questions
Related to context.
Related to empowerment value in QR
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Related to context of study
DESIGN OF QRComponents in QR design
Methods.Selection
Related to questions•Interview (individual meaning of an experience or description of an event)
•Focus group (group meaning of an experience, a decision to be made)
•Life history (evolution of a process, an experience)
•Observations (interactions in communication or others)
•Analysis of documents (for identifying norms, politics, decisions)
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In traditional research: hypothesis verification through different methods.
Denzin (1970/1978) introduces it in QR
Types of triangulation: data, researchers, theories, methods.
Alternative sense of triangulation: for increasing knowledge on the topic, various constructions of the topic.
DESIGN OF QRComponents in QR design
MethodsTriangulation
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RESULTS ANALYSIS
Information was analyzed in accordance with general guidelines for
inductive data analysis, suggested by Lincoln and Guba (1985). To that
end, we and systematized, categorized and interpreted the information
units (words, phrases, concepts, paragraphs) identified in the
participants’ report.
These categories are illustrated by excerpts of information provided by
participants.
EXAMPLE (Cont.) :
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Decision and general analysis strategy.
DESIGN OF QRComponents in QR design
4) Data analysis
Simultaneous data gathering and analysis
Selected units of analysis- Relation between units and context- Relation context- results
Description of analysis strategy
Methods
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Characteristics
Natural contextHolistic
Multiple reality
Interactive
IdeographicReflexive
Congruence context/method/reality
Qualitative Research
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Differentiating characteristics of Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches
Quantitative Qualitative
Natural science perspective(Naturwissenschaften)
Human science perspective(Geisteswissenschaften)
Positivism Phenomenology, Idealism, and Constructivism
One true reality, measurableMultiple realities, socially constructed, andcontext dependent
Comte, Durkheim, Mill Husserl, Deutscher, Weber, Dilthey.
Deductive Inductive
Theory driven Theory generating
Hipothesis testing Hypothesis generating
Predicting Verstehen (Understanding)
Quantification Description
Understanding laws and causes Seeking meaning
Outcome oriented, answering questions Discovery oriented, asking questions
Objective and detached researcher Involved and interactive researcher
Experimental designs and standardizedinstruments
In-depth interviews, participant observations,and “researcher as instruments”
Third-person written reports First-person written report
Internal validity, external validity, reliability,and objetivity
Credibility, transferability, dependability, andconfirmability
Multitrait--- multimethod Triangulation
Methods and procedures are predeterminedand followed rigorously throughhout study
Methods and procedures are fluid and evolving.
Source: From Handbook of Racial/Ethnic Minority Counseling Research (2nd ed.), by J.G. Ponteroto and J.M. Casas, in preparation, Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
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Some differences between quantitative and qualitative research
Source: A. Bryman (1998) Quantity and Quality in Social Research. London: Unwin Hyman, p.94
Quantitative Qualitative
Role of Qualitative Research Exploratory Means for exploring actors´interpretations
Relationship betweenresearcher and subject
Distant Close
Researcher´s position vis the subject
External Internal
Relationship between theory/Concepts and research
Confirmation Emergent
Research strategy Structured Unstructured
Scope of findings Nomotetic Ideographic
Image of social reality Static and external to actor Procesual and sociallyconstructed by actor
Nature of data Hard, Reliable Rich, deep.
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Contextual factors which influence research design
Personal and Political
Goal
Participant´s Concern
Funding
Ethical Standards
Personal Style
Perceived Problems
Purpose
Methods
Researcher Skills
Personal Experience
Conceptual Context
Validity
Research Paradigm
Existing Theory
Pilot and Prior Research
Thought Experiments
Data and Conclusions
Research Questions
Setting