Methodological challenges for the qualitative researcher: The use of a conceptual framework within a qualitative case study

Elizabeth Gregory

doi:10.18546/lre.18.1.09

Abstract

This article presents the MERITS Plus model, a conceptual framework developed during qualitative research into the process of academic transition and the impact of educational choices upon learner identity. The article considers some of the methodological challenges faced by qualitative researchers, and how effective the use of a conceptual framework might be in addressing these issues. The MERITS Plus model was developed and modified through two pilot studies and a piece of major fieldwork, the Learner, Identity and Transition Project (LITP), a qualitative case study conducted in a college of further education in England. Empirical data were collected through semi-structured narrative interviews with 24 learners studying either an A level or a BTEC programme, and from a focus group with teaching staff. The MERITS Plus model is a multilayered approach, comprising, first, a six-element framework (Motivations, Expectations, Reality, Identity, Transition, and Stories and Synthesis) used to analyse the data, and, second, the use of Bourdieu's thinking tools to examine the complexities raised by the data. By combining these approaches, the study was able to present narratives directly by using the MERITS Plus model to create eight composite learner profiles drawn from the data to illustrate the range of different learner types found within one educational setting. Thus, the model is presented as a method of preserving the integrity of participant voice collected via qualitative methods, while allowing a systematic analysis of narratives both as individual stories and as products of particular social contexts.

Highlights

Introduction and scope of the articleThis article reports on the development of a conceptual framework called the MERITS Plus model, exemplified through case study research conducted as part of a professional doctorate between 2011 and 2017
16–19 learner does have some choice in what and where they elect to study, this is in practice restricted by the options available to them and by the grades achieved at GCSE, highlighting the relationship between an individual’s sense of agency and intentionality and the cultural field in which they must operate. This relationship was clear in the data collected in the LITP, with perceived academic ability and predicted examination results identified as key motivations for choosing either A levels or a BTEC
This article has considered the use of the MERITS Plus model, a conceptual framework developed in order to examine the impact of academic transition on learner identity during doctoral research in a further education college

Summary

Introduction and scope of the article

This article reports on the development of a conceptual framework called the MERITS Plus model, exemplified through case study research conducted as part of a professional doctorate between 2011 and 2017. The notion of habitus suggests that certain habits and dispositions can become part of an individual’s identity due to previous experiences and the forms of capital already possessed, affecting motivations for choosing the academic pathway to which learners feel they are best suited and limiting true agency Habitus represents both the way in which individuals develop a sense of self through establishing their own personal attitudes and dispositions, and how these individuals engage in different forms of practice with others of a similar disposition. 16–19 learner does have some choice in what and where they elect to study, this is in practice restricted by the options available to them and by the grades achieved at GCSE, highlighting the relationship between an individual’s sense of agency and intentionality and the cultural field in which they must operate This relationship was clear in the data collected in the LITP, with perceived academic ability and predicted examination results identified as key motivations for choosing either A levels or a BTEC. These are arguments that could be levelled at any conceptual framework, and serve as a reminder of the importance of researcher reflexivity in all forms of research, but that involving qualitative data

Conclusion

Notes on the contributor