Educational Research Methods
A site to support teaching and learning...
Qualitative data
Once data has been collected, it needs to be analysed. The nature of data analysis is different in interpretivist studies working with qualitative data, and confirmatory research working with quantitive data.
“A quality is an inherent or phenomenal property or essential characteristic of some thing (object or experience).” Schwandt, 2001: 214
Qualitative data: “nonnumeric data in the form of words” (Schwandt, 2001: 213)
Schwandt, T. A. (2001). Dictionary of Qualitative Inquiry (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
Most qualitative data considered in educational research is in the form of words: “Words … are by far the most common form of qualitative data”(Robson, 2002: 455)
Robson, C. (2002). Real World Research (2nd ed.): Blackwell.
However research also collect other forms of data such as images or artifacts (e.g. students’ models)
There are different approaches to the analysis of qualitative data.
This is a personal site of Keith S. Taber to support teaching of educational research methods.
(Dr Keith Taber is Professor of Science Education at the University of Cambridge.)
2016
