Qualitative Social Research: Critical Methods for Social Change

PurposeAcademic qualitative researchers have been criticized for rejecting the idea that their research can establish causality while market and social researchers, with their realist and pragmatic approach to research, take for granted that it can. This paper aims to explore the ability of qualitative research to determine cause and effect in terms of market and social phenomena.Design/methodology/approachThe literature on causality in qualitative research is reviewed and discussed. The discussion is further informed by the author’s own experience of undertaking commercial and academic market and social qualitative research over the past 33 years.FindingsIn qualitative market and social research, the determination of causality is often needed but rarely discussed. This paper explores this occurrence and brings to the fore, via discussion and the use of example, the ways in which causality can be determined by qualitative research.Practical implicationsA determination of what events bring about predictable changes in social and market environments can be established via qualitative research particularly at a probabilistic level of causality. This implies that policymakers should give a greater emphasis to qualitative findings than then sometimes do at the moment.Originality/valueCausality in market and social research is rarely discussed by practitioners but is nevertheless a premise of much of the qualitative research that is undertaken. This paper is therefore distinctive in that it examines whether this premise is justifiable.

Purpose Qualitative social media research has flourished in the field of marketing, but navigating the scope of inherent ethical concerns can be challenging, given the dynamic and nuanced nature of social media itself. The purpose of this paper is to propose a feminist ethic of care framework for conducting qualitative social media research in marketing. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a conceptual approach, theoretically guided by a feminist ethic of care perspective. A feminist ethic of care encourages ethical principles that align with qualitative methods, including empathy, collaboration, flexibility, interconnectedness, contextuality and recognizing power dynamics. Findings The feminist ethic of care framework outlines three considerations for conducting qualitative social media research: care to the platform, care to the participant and care to the procedure. To develop practical strategies for navigating core concerns, the authors offer reflexive questions that marketing scholars can ask themselves, guided by Tronto’s (1993) ethic of care principles: attentiveness (how am I becoming aware of needs to enact care?), responsibility (how am I willing to take care of needs?), responsiveness (how am I adjusting care practices to meet changing needs?) and competence (how am I developing the skills and knowledge to provide effective care?). Practical implications As a companion guide, the authors provide “A Practical Worksheet for Applying a Feminist Ethic of Care in Qualitative Social Media Research,” designed to support researchers in ethical decision-making at various stages throughout the research lifecycle. Researchers can use this tangible resource to navigate the nuances of their own qualitative social media research projects at critical inflection points (e.g. starting a project, data immersion, drafting a manuscript and preparing a submission). Originality/value This paper argues that a feminist ethic of care provides a context-sensitive, axiological lens for conducting qualitative social media research – starting with the “why-to,” or ethical principles, before moving to the “how-to”, or practical strategies.

This study explores foundations of qualitative social work research. A template-based review was completed on 100 articles from social work journals. Reviewers examined five things: (1) purpose or aims of research, (2) rationale or justification for work, (3) populations studied, (4) presence of four markers (addressing theory, paradigm, reflexivity, and power dynamics), and (5) implications presented. Results underscore exploratory nature of qualitative social work research; authors were most likely to use word explore and least likely to use term to describe their aims. The most common rationale given for research was a gap in literature (77%), followed by severity or extent of problem (50%). Authors emphasized perspectives of respondents, who were most likely to be social work practitioners (39%) or clients (28%). Among markers examined, authors were most likely to mention use of theory (55%) and a research paradigm (51%) and least likely to apply reflexivity (16%) or acknowledge power dynamics inherent in research (7%). Finally, authors were most likely to identify practice implications in their work (90%), followed by research (60%), theory (38%), and policy (29%). KEY WORDS: epistemology; qualitative methods; research methods; social work research; theory Social inquiry is shaped by epistemology of researcher, his or her underlying assumptions about process of knowing (Denzin, 2002). Epistemology may be seen as theories of knowledge that justify knowledge-building process that is actively or consciously adopted by (Carter & Little, 2007; Pascale, 2010). These assumptions guide our decisions about topics, research questions, theories, methods, analyses, and conclusions and help us evaluate knowledge contributions of published work (Carter & Little, 2007; Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011; Pascale, 2010). Koch and Hamngton (1998) recognized that bring to research product, data generated, a range of literature, a positioning of this literature, a positioning of oneself, and moral socio-political contexts (p. 882). Examining ways our social locations shape our process of knowing can help us understand why certain questions get asked and answered, examine how values shape observation (Pascale, 2010; Takacs, 2003, p. 37). Anastas (2004) noted that researcher's epistemology affects kind of scholarly work done, how one values scholarship and understands its political import, and how one situates oneself in relation to work. Marshall and Rossman (2006) noted importance of epistemological integrity, in which authors account for logical and compelling connections between genre, overall strategy, research questions, design, and (p. 55). Researchers demonstrate their engagement with work through explicit discussion of their research paradigm or inquiry tradition, which is fundamental for rigorous qualitative research (Anastas, 2004; Marshall & Rossman, 2006). Qualitative research should reveal a consistency and integrity of approach that is easily recognized by reader and reviewer (Padgett, 2009, p. 102). Given importance of epistemology to research endeavor, social work researchers must make explicit decisions made in process of inquiry if they are serious about contributing to knowledge base of profession. As Padgett pointed out, the burden of proof is on researcher (p. 102) to be accountable to readers regarding underlying assumptions and logic of our work. We focus our discussion on epistemology as research praxis that contributes to development of knowledge in our field. Our aim in this section of article is to discuss practice of epistemology to support social work researchers using qualitative methods to think and write more explicitly about foundations of our work. …

This study was conducted using a qualitative descriptive design to explore the challenges encountered by researchers who have conducted social work research with older adults using qualitative research methods. Within the scope of the research, in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 researchers who have conducted qualitative social work research on older adults. Following the thematic analysis of the data obtained, three themes were identified: challenges encountered in the preparation process, challenges related to the researcher, and challenges related to old age. The research findings suggest that researchers may encounter various challenges when conducting qualitative social work research with older adults, despite the fact that a prior educational background in social work provides an advantage. It is anticipated that the visibility of qualitative research experiences with older individuals will contribute to the design of studies that are responsive to the general characteristics of the old age period and the problems and requirements of this period.

Qualitative research has its own particular strengths and therefore is able to grasp the multidimension ality of meanings, contexts, unanticipated phenomena, pro cesses and explanations which can be found in the world of sport, games and physical activity. The article gives an overview over the different subject fields and articles cov ered by this special issue of the Forum Qualitative Sozial forschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research on sport science(s). 1. Grasping the Multidimensionality of Sport, Games and Physical Activity The term Sciences suggests plurality. Accordingly, the domain of sport sciences is a multiand interdisciplinary research area that includes a number of disciplines, ranging from the psychology and sociology of sports to the physiology of sports performance. Early in its development, the sports sciences were dominated by a quantitative approach to understanding that drew its inspi Address all communications to: Reinhard Stelter, Institute of Exercise and Sport Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Norre Alle 51, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark; E-mail: rstelter@ifi.ku.dk ; Ina Hunger, Universit?t Osnabr?ck, Fachbereich 3 / Sport und Sport wissenschaft, Sportzentrum, Jahnstra?e 41, D-49080 Osnabr?ck, Germany; E-mail: ina.hunger@uni-osnabrueck.de. First published: Stelter, Reinhard, Sparkes, Andrew & Hunger, Ina (2003, February). Quali tative Research in Sport Sciences?An Introduction [11 paragraphs]. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung /Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line Journal], 4(1). Available at: http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs-texte/l-03/l-03hrsg-e.htm.

Because of their constitution, the usage of performative techniques in qualitative social research must deal with a paradox. Acting as performance takes place in the present and it takes place just once. One result of this is that every representation of a performance be it as text, dis- cussion or film refers to the past. Performative social research solves this paradox by conceptual- ising performance as a kind of liminal phase of a ritual. Our thesis is that by simple outsourcing the problem of present in the of ritual, performative techniques commit the logical mistake of genetic fallacy, i.e., the mistake of forgetting that the primary value or meaning of an event has no necessary connections with its genesis in history. Therefore, a new methodology for qualitative so- cial research the performative turn requires a theoretical position which does not fall back to a position of causality as the temporal consequence of a cause and effect, as maintained by ritual theory. In this essay we suggest a non-representational theory for this venture, and point out how a methodology for qualitative research could be constituted after the performative turn.

Qualitative social research in addictions publishing: Creating an enabling journal environment

Australia employs an evidence-based approach to public health policy, emphasizing disease prevention, health promotion, and healthcare access that is informed by relevant research. However, implementing effective policy can be challenging due to the complexity of various public health issues. Social and behavioral factors significantly impact individual and community health outcomes, necessitating a deeper understanding of their interrelationships. Social science theories and methodologies provide critical insights into the complex relationships between individuals and society. This perspective paper highlights the critical role of qualitative social science research in shaping public policy by offering rich, contextual insights that quantitative data alone cannot capture. This article examines the benefit of incorporating qualitative social science research in a New South Wales (NSW) local health district's pursuit of evidence-based approaches. Through five case studies, we demonstrate how qualitative social science research has been instrumental in addressing key public health challenges, particularly in managing zoonotic diseases and pandemics, ultimately informing and shaping public health policy.

The purpose of this study is to explore the challenges faced by researchers conducting social work research using qualitative research methods during the pandemic period. As part of the qualitative descriptive research methodology employed in this study, in-depth interviews were undertaken with 15 participants who utilized qualitative research methods in the field of social work amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The thematic analysis method was used to analyze the data, and MAXQDA 22 software was used for that process. As a result of the analysis, the following two main themes were identified: the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic reflected in the planning phase of social work research, and the challenges reflected in the data collection process. The research findings revealed that the characteristic of the COVID-19 pandemic that prioritizes the physical distance between people, and the structure of qualitative social work research prioritizing mutual interaction, trust-based relationships, observation, and making the experiences of disadvantaged groups visible do not align, which brings many challenges to the process of conducting online or face-to-face qualitative social work research during the pandemic.

While much has been written about the central role of reflexivity in qualitative research, there has been no empirical study of how researchers actually ‘do’ reflexivity. As interest in qualitative research continues to grow, data is needed to operationalize and map what is assumed to be a hallmark of the qualitative paradigm. A study was thus conducted to explore the role and use of reflexivity in qualitative research. In-depth interviews were conducted with 34 qualitative social work researchers to gather information about the use of specific reflexive activities at various points in the research process. Participants were from eight countries, with the majority (65%) from the US, and included researchers utilizing diverse methods and with varying degrees of experience. Interviewees described a wide array of activities, formal and informal, conducted alone or with others, that they utilized to support reflexivity; most also stated that they made use of reflexive actions as the need arose, depending on the nature of the project, rather than in a systematic way. Although the study generated a catalog of reflexive activities, ultimately the mechanism of reflexivity may not lie in the specific activity but in the attitude with which it is carried out.

Disclosing the Ethnographic Self

Digital features like virtual reality have hardly been used in the framework of data collection in qualitative social work research. Virtual reality holds specific promise because it allows the immersion of participants in a situation and has the potential to strengthen the ecological validity of data. In this light, we examined the use of a virtual reality serious game in qualitative in-person interviews in the framework of a prevention-oriented HIV social research project. We designed and developed an immersive virtual reality serious game, and integrated it into 24 problem-centred in-person interviews. The integration was feasible, and the virtual reality serious game was well accepted. It prompted participants to elaborate their lived experiences more extensively and in depth. Participants subsequently recalled episodes they had not mentioned before, complemented their narratives and brought up new topics. The atmosphere became less formal, and participants were even more communicative. The use of virtual reality seems to have the potential to open up new perspectives, broaden epistemic possibilities and complement the qualitative methods used to investigate, in particular, verbal and non-verbal communication and interaction processes. From an ethical perspective, the use of virtual reality should be well reflected upon regarding possible after-effects for the participants.

Snowball sampling is frequently advocated and employed by qualitative social researchers. Under certain circumstances, however, it is prone to faltering and even failure. Drawing on two research projects where the snowball failed to roll, the paper identifies reasons for this stasis. It goes on to argue that there are alternative forms of networking that can be developed by the qualitative social researcher in lieu of snowballing. Specifically, when research momentum fails to build, rather than drilling down ‘vertically’ through social networks, we argue that the researcher can move ‘horizontally’ across social networks and cast the sampling and recruitment net wide and shallow rather than deep. This change in emphasis can, we argue, make the difference between a project failing and a project succeeding, and points to the importance of a variegated understanding of the social networks on which our social research depends.

There is nothing wrong with description in qualitative analysis. In fact, thick description is the bedrock upon which much of the best qualitative research is built. Or, as Jane Gilgun (2015) argues, description is often the foundation upon which interpretation and theory development is based in qualitative inquiry. That said, all too often from where I sit in my editor’s chair, I see articles that rest on thin description, at best. The authors’ repeat what their participants have said in summary fashion and then stop, leaving a reader to wonder what the significance of the work. Or, to use the question so often posed to U.S. students of research methods, so what? Last year, a group of four early-to-senior scholars were invited by a group of doctoral students to participate in a panel discussion at the Society for Social Work Research (SSWR) conference held in the United States in January 2015. I was honored to be a member of this panel which was dubbed Beyond Description: A Workshop on Moving from Description to Analysis in Qualitative Social Work Research. The student organizers included two from the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration, Aditi Das and Amanda Michelle Jones, as well as Charity Hoffman from the University of Michigan. The students asked their seniors to think about how we moved from describing qualitative data to interpreting it during analysis. They asked, ‘‘how did we do that heavy lifting’’? The SSWR session was lively and provocative and appeared to be well received by those in attendance. For this reason, it seemed worth trying to expand on these conference comments. The net results are published in this issue of Qualitative Social Work. The opening article is by Jane Gilgun. Jane elaborates in her piece entitled, ‘‘Beyond description to interpretation and theory in qualitative social work research’’ (Gilgun, 2015). Her article is followed by a talented early-career scholar, Tina K. Sacks who writes an essay entitled, New pathways to analysis through thick description: Historical trauma and emerging qualitative research (Sacks, 2015). Qualitative Social Work 2015, Vol. 14(6) 731–740 ! The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1473325015612859 qsw.sagepub.com

Challenges in qualitative social pharmacy research: Reflections based on a conference workshop.