Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches

ANALYSIS OF QUALITATIVE DATA

FIGURE 3 Data in Field Research(Data 1 = Raw sense data, experiences of researcher;
Data 2 = Recorded data, physical record of experiences; Data 3 = Selected, processed data in a final report)
Source:Adapted from Ellen (1984a:214).

Observe

Listen

Axial

Coding

Selective

Coding

Analyze

Data

Collect

Data

Artifacts

Documents, Maps

Observations of Others

Other

Sources

Data

1

Data

2

Data

3

Jotted

Notes

Memory &

Emotion

Visual

Recording

Sound

Recording

Interview

Field

Notes

Open

Coding

Sort and

Classify

Interpret &

Elaborate

a social process or relationship and then compare
specific cases to it.
In qualitative research, we can use ideal types
in two ways: contrast contexts and analogy.

1.Contrast contexts.Researchers who adopt
a strongly interpretive approach may use ideal types
to interpret data in a way that is sensitive to the con-
text and cultural meanings of members. Rather than
develop hypotheses or create a generalizable the-
ory, they use the ideal type to bring out the specifics
of each case and to emphasize the impact of the
unique context.^9 As they contrast between contexts,
they may choose cases with dramatic contrasts or
distinctive features. For example, in Work and
Authority in Industry,Bendix (1956) compared
management relations in very different contexts,
Czarist Russia and industrialized England. When
comparing contexts, some researchers do not use
the ideal type to illustrate a theory in different cases

or to discover regularities. Instead, they accentuate

the specific and the unique. In contrast, others use

ideal types to show how unique features shape the

operation of general processes. As Skocpol and

Somers (1980:178) explained:

“Above all, contrasts are drawn between or among

individual cases. Usually such contrasts are devel-

oped with the aid of references to broad themes or

orienting questions or ideal type concepts. Themes

and questions may serve as frameworks for pointing

out differences among cases. Ideal types may be used

as sensitized devices—benchmarks against which to

establish the particular features of each case.”

You might use the ideal type to show how spe-

cific circumstances, cultural meanings, and the per-

spectives of specific individuals are central for

understanding a social setting or process. The ideal

type becomes a foil against which you can highlight

unique contextual features.