The 7 Things I Know About Cyber Security After 25 Years | April 2024
Qualitative technologies
1. Using Technology in the
Qualitative Research Process
Carla Piper, Ed. D.
Brandman University
2. Types of Technology
On-line research, communication, and
collaboration
Word Processing – type and save text
files digitally
Code and analyze text in Ethnograph
Spreadsheet - Excel
Create charts and graphs demonstrated
results of study
Provide visual representation of data
Powerpoint multimedia presentation of
results of the study for colleagues
3. Word Processing
Create digital files of all text generated
in study
Field Journal Entries
Reflections/Memos
Observations/Notetaking/Descriptions
Survey Results
Interview Transcriptions
Audio and Video Transcriptions
E-mail/Phone Communications
Select “save as text” – available for all
computer formats
5. Ethnograph 5.0
Complex program with many
dimensions and possible levels of use
Used for extensive long-term studies
when a variety of information is
gathered from multiple sources -
sociological, health, ethnographic,
educational, socio-economic, etc.
Helps to understand what is really
happening with individuals in a
particular society
Seidell (1998)
6. Qualitative Research
Paradigm
Inductive Process
Naturalistic Inquiry
Discover critical themes and patterns as they
emerge from the data
Seek out details to understand diverse and
unique experiences of each individual
Examine multiple realities
Exploratory in nature
Requires non-standardized methods of
investigation
Patton – 1980 & 1990
Lincoln & Guba - 1985
7. Human as Instrument
Can interact with the situation
Can be responsive to environmental clues
Can provide immediate feedback
Can request verification of data
Collects information at multiple levels
simultaneously
Explores atypical or unexpected responses
Processes data as soon as they become
available
Maintains “empathetic neutrality” Patton, 1980
Lincoln & Guba, 1985
Hoepfl, 1997
8. Trustworthiness of Study
Triangulation of multiple sources of data
Maintain an audit trail
Establish dependability and confirmability of
the study
Hard copies, disks, audio/video tapes,
interview transcriptions, etc.
Maintain process notes – researcher’s
diary, memos, field observations, etc.
Record intentions and dispositions
Develop valid instruments – interviews,
surveys, questionnaires
Patton - 1980
9. Appropriate Analysis
“Working with data, organizing it,
breaking it into manageable units,
synthesizing it, searching for
patterns, discovering what is
important and what is to be
learned, and deciding what you will
tell others"
Bogdan and Biklen (1982)
10. QDA - Qualitative Data Analysis
Noticing
Producing a record of what you notice
As you notice, you code with descriptive
meanings
Collecting – sorting, classifying,
synthesizing, summarizing, indexing
Thinking
Making sense out the pieces
Looking for patterns and relationships
Making general discoveries
Seidell, 1998 – Ethnograph Author
11. The Cycle – Constant Spiral
Notice Things
Collect
Things
Think About
Things
12. “A little bit of data and a lot of
right brain”
“The critical way of seeing, in my
experience at least, comes out of
numerous cycles through a little bit of
data, massive amounts of thinking
about the data, and slippery things like
intuition and serendipity.” Agar, 1991
13. Ethnograph helps you…
Compile
Import data files
Reformats text – 40 character/hanging indent
Numbers each line of the text
Organize
Code data files
Add contextual comments, identifiers, memos
Identify and name interesting things
Manipulate
Search for coded segments
Bring order to the data
“Sort and sift”
Compare and contrast
14. Basic Process
Create new project (with “child” sub
projects)
Import ALL typed text into project
Code and index text
Look for emerging topics of interest
Create a hierarchical family codebook
indexing key terms
Search codes to find, count, examine,
and organize data segments
