Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches

WRITING THE RESEARCH REPORT AND THE POLITICS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH

from analysis so much that readers cannot see the
connection.^9
The tone of field research reports tends to be
less objective and formal and more personal than
quantitative studies. Often, they are in the first per-
son (i.e., using the pronoun I) because the researcher
was directly involved in the setting, interacted with
the people studied, and was the measurement “in-
strument.” The researcher’s decisions or indeci-
sions, feelings, reactions, and personal experiences
are essential features of the field research process.
Field research reports often face more skepti-
cism than quantitative reports do. This makes

assessing an audience’s demands for evidence and

establishing credibility essential. The key is to give

readers enough evidence so that they believe the re-

counted events and accept the interpretations as

plausible. In field research, readers expect a degree

of selective observation, so the critical issue is

whether other observers could reach the same con-

clusion had they been in the same field site and

examined the same data.^10

In presenting field research evidence, authors

often have a data reduction dilemma. Most data are

in the form of an enormous volume of field notes,

but the authors cannot directly share all the obser-

vations or recorded conversations with the readers.

For example, in their study of medical students,

Boys in White,Becker et al. (1961) had about 5,000

pages of single-spaced field notes. Field researchers

often include only about 5 percent of their field

notes in a report as quotes. The remaining 95 per-

cent is not wasted; there is just no room for it. Thus,

writers select quotes and indirectly convey the rest

of the data to readers. A field research report has no

fixed organization to follow, although a literature

review often appears near the beginning. There are

many acceptable organizational forms. Lofland

(1976) suggests the following:

1. Introduction
   a.Most general aspects of situation
   b. Main contours of the general situation
   c. How materials were collected
   d.Details about the setting
   e. How the report is organized


2. The situation
   a.Analytic categories
   b. Contrast between situation and other
   situations
   c. Development of situation over time


3. Strategies


4. Summary and implications

Devices for organizing evidence and analysis

also vary a great deal.^11 For example, writers can

organize the report in terms of a natural history,an

unfolding of events as the writer discovered them,

or as a chronology, following the developmental

cycle or career of an aspect of the setting or people

in it. Another possibility is to organize the report as

EXPANSION BOX 3

Why Qualitative Research Reports

Are Longer

1. The data in a qualitative report are more difficult to
   condense in comparison with a quantitative report.
   Data are in the form of words, pictures, or sentences
   and include many quotes and examples.


2. Qualitative researchers try to create a subjective
   sense of empathy and understanding among read-
   ers in addition to presenting factual evidence and an-
   alytic interpretations. Detailed descriptions of specific
   settings and situations help readers better under-
   stand or get a feel for settings. Researchers attempt
   to transport the reader into the subjective worldview
   and meaning system of a social setting.


3. Qualitative researchers use less standardized tech-
   niques of gathering data, creating analytic categories,
   and organizing evidence than quantitative re-
   searchers. The techniques applied may be particular
   to individual researchers or unique settings. Thus, re-
   searchers explain what they did and why because it
   has not been done before.


4. Exploring new settings or constructing new theory is
   a common goal in qualitative research. The devel-
   opment of new concepts and examination of rela-
   tionships among them adds to the length of reports.
   Theory flows out of evidence, and detailed de-
   scriptions demonstrate how the researcher created
   interpretations.


5. Qualitative researchers may use more varied writing
   styles, which increases length. They have more free-
   dom to employ literary devices to tell a story or re-
   count a tale.