HSOC 408 Chapter 17: The Nature of Qalitative Research
18 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
We must recognize that the term "qualitative research" does not refer to a single research strategy but rather refers to a group of many forms of social research. We should find the common set of values that connects qualitative research. Postmodernists are skeptical of notions that claim a definitive reality. Rather, they believe that research findings are versions of an external reality and the key issue becomes one of plausibility rather than one of right or wrong. They have less concern about data collection issues and give more concern towards interpretation and representation of findings. As outlined in chapter 4 - qualitative research is inductive, interpretivist (epistemology), and constructivist (ontology). This is a problem for qualitative research because it usually uses case studies and smaller samples: internal validity - the degree to which the researcher"s observations match with the theories they develop. Review of alternative criteria (measuring trustworthiness) from chapter 3:
