Qualitative research
I thought it was more difficult to find a qualitative research paper than a quantitative research paper. I sensed that when I was searching through papers, it seemed to be more common to use the quantitative method, perhaps because of the advantage with the method, being easier and less time consuming to conduct. I tried to find a paper which was not too much theoretical but rather researched on a ‘physical’ object. Once I found the paper, it was not so hard I thought to go through the questions of the theme. I think it can be ‘difficult’ to discuss quantitative research without discussing qualitative research sometimes, as the other one’s advantages can be the others disadvantage. Thus, analyzing the qualitative method, I thought about the advantages and disadvantages with the quantitative method as well.
Although in the seminar, the discussion was about qualitative research, quantitative research also came to discussion. The question about whether qualitative research can involve only one participant was raised, and the answer would be yes, it is possible in theory. If the research is for example performed over a long period of time, one could obtain a sample under certain intervals to see in case of a medical research the status of the participant at a certain time.
Case studies
I had some difficulties going through the table of building theory from case study research in the literature [1], admittedly I think I should have put more time in understanding it and thus been better at analyzing the chosen paper. There were also some words or concepts that I probably could have asked about at the seminar.
One thing I would add to the paper is that the data collection methods used in the paper were of both the quantitative and qualitative kind which can be seen as a strength. For the gamebook, quantitative analysis were performed, and different tests used different kinds of analysis methods. For the game, a questionnaire and an interview were used to perceive the participants comments on the game [2].
As far as seminar goes, I thought the case study session was the most interesting part of the seminar and where I got most input from. Some things that I think I got clarification in:
* Case studies can be used to develop new theories.
* Sometimes, quantitative methods are not always the most appropriate to use in case studies. It kind of makes sense, because I think, if one would compare a case study with qualitative research it would match better than with quantitative research. Both of them usually have a fewer “subjects” to study than quantitative research.
* When choosing the case study, one should think about whether it stands out.
[1]
Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building Theories from Case Study Research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532-550.
[2]
Túlio Teixeira Cota, Lucila Ishitani, Niltom Vieira Jr., Mobile game design for the elderly: A study with focus on the motivation to play, Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 51, Part A, October 2015, Pages 96-105, ISSN 0747-5632, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.04.026.
Hej,
SvaraRaderaInteresting question actually if qualitative research can be conducted with only one participant! I guess this would be a case study then? What did you say about it in the seminar?
It's good that you got so much out of the case study seminar! I also felt that I learned a lot and got the same impression on other blogs - I guess that shows that not many of us students have ever worked with case studies before, or maybe just not thought about it as intensively.
As the above commenter I also believe that the question you raised in your seminar about whether or not the number of participants in a study determine if it's qualitative/quantitave is quite interesting. You also share the same view on the answer as I do. Though, I think it's more about the problem definition that defines what method you would use. The end result would be affected by the number of participants however. If the aim of a study strives towards qualitative data, then the method is chosen accordingly. What I mean is that, while the question is worth mentioning, it doesn't really change anything.
SvaraRaderaOtherwise, the definition of case study that you got from the seminar covers most of it, good job.
Good luck on the last post!
It shows that you have reflected thoroughly on both qualitative methods and case study methodology as well as the discussions from your seminar. I also thought that case study was more interesting to discuss as I had a more difficult time grasping what a case study was (before the seminar. During our seminar we also discussed examples of when case studies are useful and an example that I found helpful was a study from 2000 about internet addiction which had the purpose of examining if internet addiction existed and was a problem. Therefore case studies are useful to see if something exists or not. Do you agree?
SvaraRaderaI also think that the case study part was the more interesting part of the seminar. When I read your post I started to wonder whether you are correct in saying that case studies "can be used to develop a new theory" - but can they be used or are they always used to do this? After thinking about it I came to the conclusion that a case study might always be conducted with the aim to develop new theories. Whether that aim can be fulfilled is another aspect and that varies from study to study, I guess.
SvaraRaderaAnother aspect you mentioned is that a case study should stand out. But is this always the case? Because when a case study is used to gain more knowledge about a research field I wonder how a case is supposed to stand out in that context.
Hi!
SvaraRaderaI like how you have divided your post into qualitative research and case studies, makes it really easy to follow your thoughts. Something I found to be interesting from our seminar is that case studies are not only used to develop new theories as you mentioned but also to gain knowledge about a field. This makes case studies a good tool to use if you would like to investigates something that you would like to more about since case studies are about investigating the full complexity of a field. When you say stand out, do you mean that you should choose a study about something that stands out or is rare? In that case I agree, but I'm not sure about the case study having to stand out.
Hi, I agree with your that it was more difficult to find a qualitative research paper than a quantitative research paper. For this last theme, I think most of us focus on the research paper since the lack of lecture. And it's nice to see you wrote the progress of how you find the paper, it is also a key for understanding qualitative research. And your conclusion is clearer than before. Good luck to the final post!
SvaraRadera