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chapter 3

Qualitative and Descriptive
Designs—Observing Behavior

Chapter Contents

• Qualitative and Descriptive Research Designs
• Qualitative Research Interviews
• Critiquing a Qualitative Study
• Writing the Qualitative Research Proposal
• Describing Data in Descriptive Research

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CHAPTER 3Introduction

In the fall of 2009, Phoebe Prince and her family relocated from Ireland to South Hadley, Massachusetts. Phoebe was immediately singled out by bullies at her new high school and subjected to physical threats, insults about her Irish heritage, and harassing posts
on her Facebook page. This relentless bullying continued until January of 2010, ending
only because Phoebe elected to take her own life in order to escape her tormentors (United
Press International, 2011). Tragic stories like this one are all too common, and it should
come as no surprise that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have iden-
tified bullying as a serious problem facing our nation’s children and adolescents (Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2012).

Scientific research on bullying began in Norway in the late 1970s in response to a wave of
teen suicides. Work begun by psychologist Dan Olweus—and since continued by many
others—has documented both the frequency and the consequences of bullying in the
school system. Thus, we know that approximately one third of children are victims of bul-
lying at some point during development, with between 5% and 10% bullied on a regular
basis (Griffin & Gross, 2004; Nansel et al., 2001). Victimization by bullies has been linked
to a wide range of emotional and behavioral problems, including depression, anxiety, self-
reported health problems, and an increased risk of both violent behavior and suicide (for
a detailed review, see Griffin & Gross, 2004). Recent research even suggests that bullying
during adolescence may have a lasting impact on the body’s physiological stress response
(Hamilton et al., 2008).

But most of this research has a common limitation: It has studied the phenomenon of bul-
lying using self-report survey measures. That is, researchers typically ask students and
teachers to describe the extent of bullying in the schools or have students fill out a col-
lection of survey measures, describing in their own words both bullying experiences and
psychological functioning. These studies are conducted rigorously, and the measures they
use certainly meet the criteria of reliability and validity that we discussed in Chapter 2
(Section 2.2, Reliability and Validity). However, as Wendy Craig, Professor of
at Queen’s University, and Debra Pepler, a Distinguished Professor at York University,
suggested in a 1997 article, this questionnaire approach is unable to capture the full con-
text of bullying behaviors. And, as we have already discussed, self-report measures are
fully dependent on people’s ability to answer honestly and accurately.

In order to address this limitation, Craig and Pepler (1997) decided to observe bully-
ing behaviors as they occurred naturally on the playground. Among other things, the
researchers found that acts of bullying occurred approximately every 7 minutes, lasted
only about 38 seconds, and tended to occur within 120 feet of the school building. They
also found that peers intervened to try to stop the bullying more than twice as often as
adults did (11% versus 4%, respectively). These findings add significantly to scientific
understanding of when and how bullying occurs. And for our purposes, the most nota-
ble thing about them is that none of the findings could have been documented without
directly observing and recording bullying behaviors on the playground. By using this
technique, the researchers were able to gain a more thorough understanding of the phe-
nomenon of bullying and thus able to provide real-world advice to teachers and parents.
Qualitative research is valuable when the nature of a phenomenon such as bullying, its
signs, symptoms, dynamics, and emotional consequences are not well understood.

One recurring theme in this book is that it is absolutely critical to pick the right research
design to address your hypothesis. Over the next three chapters, we will be discussing

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CHAPTER 3Section 3.1 Qualitative and Descriptive Research Designs

three specific categories of research designs, proceeding in order of increasing control
over elements of the design: descriptive designs, quasi-experimental designs, and true
experimental designs. This chapter will also focus on qualitative research designs that
have similar levels of control as the case study, in which the primary goal is to examine
phenomena of interest in great detail. We will begin by discussing qualitative designs,
including ethnography study, phenomenological study, and grounded theory study. We
will then discuss three prominent examples of descriptive designs that can be used in
either qualitative or quantitative approaches—case studies, archival research, and obser-
vational research—covering the basic concepts, the pros and cons, and contrasting quali-
tative and quantitative approaches of each design (see Figure 3.1). We go on to discuss
interview techniques and then offer guidelines for presenting descriptive data in graphi-
cal, numerical, and narrative form. Finally, we show how to critique a study and write a
proposal for qualitative research projects.

Figure 3.1: Qualitative and descriptive research on the continuum of control

3.1 Qualitative and Descriptive Research Designs

We learned in Chapter 1 that researchers generally take one of two broad approaches to answering their research questions. Quantitative research is a systematic, empirical approach that attempts to generalize results to other con-
texts, whereas qualitative research is a more descriptive approach that attempts to gain a
deep understanding of particular cases and contexts. Before we discuss specific examples
of both qualitative and descriptive designs, it is important to understand that descriptive
designs can represent either quantitative or qualitative perspectives, whereas qualitative
designs represent only qualitative perspectives. In this section, we examine the qualitative
and descriptive approaches in more detail.

In Chapter 1, we used the analogy of studying traffic patterns to contrast qualitative and
quantitative methods—a quantitative researcher would do a “flyover” and perform a sta-
tistical analysis, whereas a qualitative researcher would likely study a single busy inter-
section in detail. This illustrates a key point about the latter approach. All qualitative
approaches have two characteristics in common: (1) Focusing on phenomena that occur
in natural or real-world settings; and (2) studying those phenomena in their complexity.

Increasing Control . . .Increasing Control . . .

• Ethnographic Study
• Phenomenological Study
• Grounded Theory Study
• Case Study
• Archival Research
• Observational Research

Qualitative and
Descriptive Methods

• Survey Research

Predictive
Methods

• Pre-experiments
• Quasi-experiments
• “True” Experiments

Experimental
Methods

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CHAPTER 3Section 3.1 Qualitative and Descriptive Research Designs

Qualitative researchers focus on interpreting and making sense out of what they observe
rather than trying to simplify and quantify these observations. In general, qualitative
research involves collecting interviews, recordings, and observations made in a natural
setting. Regardless of the overall approach (qualitative or quantitative), however, collect-
ing data in the real world results in less control and structure than does collecting data
in a laboratory setting. But whereas quantitative researchers might view reduced control
as a threat to reliability and validity, qualitative researchers view it as a strength of the
study because the phenomenon of interest is being studied in its natural environment.
By conducting observations in a natural setting, it is possible to capture people’s natural
and unfiltered responses. The concepts of reliability and validity for both qualitative and
quantitative approaches are discussed further in Chapter 5.

As an example, consider two studies on the ways people respond to traumatic events.
In a 1993 paper, psychologists James Pennebaker and Kent Harber took a quantitative
approach to examining the community-wide impact of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
(centered in the San Francisco Bay Area). These researchers conducted phone surveys
of 789 area residents, asking people to indicate, using a 10-point scale, how often they
“thought about” and “talked about” the earthquake during the 3-month period after its
occurrence. In analyzing these data, Pennebaker and Harber discovered that people tend
to stop talking about traumatic events about 2 weeks after they occur but keep thinking
about the event for approximately 4 more weeks. That is, the event is still on people’s
minds, but they decide to stop discussing it with other people. In a follow-up study using
the 1991 Gulf War, these researchers found that this conflict between thoughts and their
verbalization leads to an increased risk of illness (Pennebaker & Harber, 1993). Thus, the
goal of the study was to gather data in a controlled manner and test a set of hypotheses
about community responses to trauma.

Contrast this approach with the more qualitative one taken by the developmental psy-
chologist Paul Miller and colleagues (2012), who used a qualitative approach to study the
ways that parents model coping behavior for their children. These researchers conducted
semistructured interviews of 24 parents whose families had been evacuated following the
2007 wildfires in San Diego County and an additional 32 parents whose families had been
evacuated following a 2008 series of deadly tornadoes in Tennessee. Owing to a lack of
prior research on how parents teach their children to cope with trauma, Miller and col-
leagues approached their interviews with the goal of “documenting and describing” (p. 8)
these processes. That is, rather than attempt to impose structure and test a strict hypoth-
esis, the researchers focused on learning from these interviews and letting the interview-
ees’ perspectives drive the acquisition of knowledge.

Qualitative research is undertaken in many academic disciplines, including, psychology,
sociology, anthropology, biology, education, history, and medicine (Leedy & Ormrod,
2010). Although once frowned upon in the fields of psychology and education, due to
their subjective nature, qualitative techniques have gained wide acceptance as legitimate
research. In fact, many researchers argue that qualitative research is the beginning step
to all types of inquiry. Thus, qualitative research can explore unknown topics, unknown
variables, and inadequate theory bases and thereby assist in the generating of hypotheses
for future quantitative studies.

Unlike quantitative studies, qualitative studies do not allow the researcher to iden-
tify cause-and-effect relationships among variables. Rather, the focus is on describing,

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CHAPTER 3Section 3.1 Qualitative and Descriptive Research Designs

interpreting, verifying, and evaluating phenomena, such as personal experiences, events,
and behaviors, in their natural environment. The most common forms of qualitative data
collection techniques are observations, interviews, videotapes, focus groups, and docu-
ment review. Creswell (2009) lists the following characteristics as generally present in
most types of qualitative research:

• Data collection occurs in the natural or real-world setting where participants
experience the issue or problem being investigated.

• The researcher is the key instrument used to collect data through means of exam-
ining documents, observing behavior, or interviewing participants.

• Multiple sources of data are collected and reviewed.
• As discussed in Chapter 1, qualitative researchers use inductive data analysis

and build patterns and themes from the bottom up.
• Focus is on understanding the participants’ experiences, not on what the

researcher believes those experiences mean.
• The research process is emergent and can change after the researcher enters the

field and begins collecting data.
• Researchers as well as participants and readers interpret what they see, hear, and

understand. This results in multiple views of the problem.
• Researchers attempt to develop a complex picture of the problem under investi-

gation, utilizing multiple methods of data collection.

Descriptive research does not fit neatly into the categories of either qualitative or quanti-
tative methodologies; instead, it can utilize qualitative, quantitative, or a mixture of both
methods to describe and interpret events, conditions, behaviors, feelings, and situations.
In all cases, descriptive research investigates situations as they are, and similar to quali-
tative designs, does not involve changing (controlling) the situation under investigation
or attempting to determine cause-and-effect relationships. However, unlike qualitative
designs, descriptive designs usually yield quantitative data that can be analyzed using
statistical analyses. That is, descriptive research gathers data that describe events and then
organizes, tabulates, depicts, and describes the collected data, often using visual aids such
as graphs, tables, and charts.

Collecting data for descriptive research can be done with a single method or a variety
of methods, depending upon the research questions. The most common data collection
methods utilized in descriptive research include surveys, interviews, observations, and
portfolios. In general, descriptive research often yields rich data that can lead to important
recommendations and findings.

In the following six sections, we examine six specific examples of qualitative and descrip-
tive designs: ethnography, phenomenological studies, grounded theory studies, case
studies, archival research, and observational research. The sections on ethnography, phe-
nomenological studies, and grounded theory studies will focus specifically on the quali-
tative uses of these methods, since these are qualitative-only research methods. Because
case studies, archival research, and observational research share the goals of describing
attitudes, feelings, and behaviors, each one can be undertaken from either a quantitative
or a qualitative perspective. In other words, qualitative and quantitative researchers use
many of the same general methods but do so with different ends in mind. To illustrate this
flexibility, we will end these three sections with a paragraph that contrasts qualitative and
quantitative uses of the particular method.

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CHAPTER 3Section 3.1 Qualitative and Descriptive Research Designs

Ethnography Study (Qualitative Design)

Ethnographies were first developed by anthropologists to examine human society and
various cultural groups but are now frequently used in the sociology, psychology, and
education fields. In fact, today ethnographies are probably the most widely used qualita-
tive method for researching social and cultural conditions. Unlike case studies (which will
be discussed later in this chapter) that examine a particular person or event, ethnogra-
phies focus on an entire cultural group or a group that shares a common culture. Although
culture has various definitions, it usually refers to “the beliefs, values and attitudes that
shape the behavior of a particular group of people” (Merriam & Associates, 2002, p. 8).
The concept of what a culture is has also changed over time. Recently, more research has

focused on smaller groups, such as classrooms
and work offices, than on larger groups, such as
northwest Alaskan Natives.

Regardless of whether the cultural group is a
classroom or an entire ethnic group in a particu-
lar region of the world, ethnographic research
involves studying an entire community in order
to obtain a holistic picture of it. For example, in
addition to studying behaviors, researchers will
examine the economic, social, and cultural con-
texts that shape the community or were formed
by the community.

In order to thoroughly study a particular cultural
group, researchers will often immerse themselves
in the community. That is, the researcher will live
in the study community for a prolonged period
and participate in the daily routine and activities
of those being studied. This is called participant
observation. Such prolonged involvement is nec-
essary in order to observe and record processes
that occur over time. Participant observation is
an important data collection procedure in ethno-
graphic research; thus, it is imperative that the
researcher establish rapport and build trusting

relationships with the individuals he or she is studying (Hennink, Hutter, & Bailey, 2011).
Establishing trusting relationships can be a quite lengthy process, which is why ethno-
graphic studies usually span long periods of time.

Steps in Ethnographic Research
Several steps are involved in conducting site-based research and data collection. First, the
researcher must select a site or community that will address the research questions being
asked. Because researchers should not have any expectations regarding the outcome of
the study, it is best if the researcher selects a site that he or she is not affiliated with. Select-
ing sites that the researcher is acquainted with may make it difficult for him or her to
study the group in an unbiased manner.

Ingram Publishing/Thinkstock

Employees who are part of an office culture
are an example of those who might be
studied in an ethnography.

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CHAPTER 3Section 3.1 Qualitative and Descriptive Research Designs

The next step involves gaining entry into the site. This can be a difficult task, as some
researchers may not be well received. Therefore, a successful entrance into a site requires
having access to a gatekeeper, an individual “who can provide a smooth entrance into
the site” (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010, p. 139). Gatekeepers may include a principal of a school,
a leader of a community, a director of a company, a tribal shaman, or any other well-
respected leader of a particular cultural group.

Once inside the site, the researcher must take several delicate steps, including establishing
rapport with individuals and forming trusting relationships. As mentioned previously,
establishing rapport is one of the most critical aspects of participant observation and pro-
vides a foundation for the quality and quantity of data that will be collected. Initially,
establishing trust will involve interacting with everyone. At some point, however, the
researcher will generally select key “informants” who can assist him or her in collecting
the data. Finally, similar to all types of research, the researcher will need to inform indi-
viduals about why he or she is there and the purpose of the study.

As with case studies, data collection and data analysis tend to occur simultaneously. Data
collection may include making observations, obtaining recordings, conducting inter-
views, and/or collecting records from the group. As the information is being collected,
the researcher will read through it in great detail to obtain a general sense of what has
been collected and to reflect on what all the data mean.

The next step is to organize the data based on events, issues, opinions, behaviors, and
other factors and begin to analyze it by sorting the data into categories. The categorized
information will allow the researcher to observe any potential patterns or commonalities
that may exist, as well as to identify any key or critical events.

In addition to categorizing and observing patterns, the researcher will generally develop
thick descriptions of the data, which “involves reading the data and delving deeper into
each issue by exploring its context, meaning, and the nuances that surround it” (Hennink,
Hutter, & Bailey, 2011, p. 239). For example, thick descriptions answer questions about
the data such as, What is the issue? Why does it occur? When does it occur? What are the
perceptions about the issue? What are some explanations about the issue? and, Is the issue
related to other data? Thick descriptions provide additional information on potential con-
nections and relationships that will be useful during data interpretation.

Pros and Cons of Ethnography
Through extensive and expansive investigation that is often personally involving for the
researcher, ethnography allows the examination of a particular cultural group in great
detail. This method provides a holistic picture and understanding of the group as well as
diverse aspects of it. It also allows great flexibility in the types of data collection methods
that can be used. However, as we have seen, ethnographic research requires a long process
of obtaining data and, therefore, can be quite expensive and time consuming. In addi-
tion, if one is not familiar with the various data collection methods, immersing oneself
into a group without a clear idea of how to collect data from it can be overwhelming and
distracting.

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CHAPTER 3Section 3.1 Qualitative and Descriptive Research Designs

As with all forms of participant observation, researcher bias and participant-expectancy
bias (or the participant-observer effect) should be considered when examining the results
of ethnographic research, and in all qualitative research for that matter. Researcher bias
occurs when the researcher influences the results in order to portray a certain outcome.
This type of bias can influence how the data are collected, as well as how it is analyzed
and interpreted. It can also impact what type of data is collected, how the data are catego-
rized, and what types of conclusions are drawn from the data analysis. For example, if a
researcher is not able to lay aside his or her beliefs or assumptions, the type of data col-
lected and the conclusions that are drawn could be biased or misleading. Also, we must
take into account the influence that the researcher has on the participants’ behaviors and
actions. Human nature being what it is, participants sometimes alter their normal behav-
iors to be consistent with what they think the researcher is expecting from them or act
differently simply because they are being observed.

Phenomenological Study (Qualitative Design)

In the same way that ethnography focuses on cultural groups and their behaviors and expe-
riences, a phenomenological study focuses on the person’s perceptions and understand-
ings of an experience. A phenomeno-
logical study is one that attempts to
understand the inner experiences of
an event, such as a person’s percep-
tions, perspectives, and understand-
ings (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010). Phe-
nomenological studies are concerned
primarily with understanding what
it is like to experience certain events.
For example, researchers might be
interested in studying the experi-
ences of military spouses who have
spouses deployed, wounded sol-
diers coming back from war, juvenile
offenders’ perceptions of the thera-
peutic relationship in counseling, or
elderly individuals being placed into
a nursing home. In any situation, the
idea is to better understand the sub-
jective or personal perspectives of
different people as they experience a
particular event.

Some researchers conduct phenomenologicalstudies to obtain a more thorough under-
standing of an experience that they have personally gone through. Looking at an experi-
ence or phenomenon from multiple perspectives can allow them to generalize about what
it is like to experience that phenomenon. However, regardless of the reason for wanting to
conduct the research, it is important that the researcher set aside his or her personal beliefs
and attitudes toward the experience in order to see and fully understand the essence of
the phenomenon being studied (Merriam & Associates, 2002).

Tyler Stableford/Iconica/Getty Images

Phenomenological studies attempt to under-stand what
it is like to experience a certain event, such as returning
home from war.

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CHAPTER 3Section 3.1 Qualitative and Descriptive Research Designs

Steps in Phenomenological Research
Phenomenological research is generally conducted through in-depth, unstructured, and
recorded interviews with a select participant sample (see Section 3.2, Qualitative Research
Interviews). The sample size is usually between 5 and 25 participants who have directly
experienced the phenomenon being studied (Creswell, 1998). Unstructured interviews are
conducted individually with each participant, which allows the researcher to follow the
participant’s experiences thoroughly and ask spontaneous questions based on what is
being discussed. Generally, unstructured interviews do not contain any predetermined
questions, although some researchers develop a few questions to guide the interview,
which is acceptable in phenomenological research. Thus, a typical phenomenological
interview is more like an informal conversation, although the participant does most of
the talking and the researcher does most of the listening. In addition to listening, the
researcher should also note any meaningful facial expressions or body language, as these
can provide additional information regarding the intensity of a feeling or thought.

In phenomenological studies, data are usually analyzed by identifying common themes
across people’s experiences. Themes are created by first transcribing the information from
the interview in full and then editing to remove any unnecessary content. The next step
is to group common statements from the interviews into categories that reflect the vari-
ous aspects of the experience as well as to examine any divergent perspectives among
subjects. The final step is to develop an overall description of how people experience the
phenomenon (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010).

Pros and Cons of Phenomenological Studies
Phenomenological studies give researchers a comprehensive view of a particular phenom-
enon, which is experienced by many but illumined by studying the subjective responses
of a few. Unstructured interviews provide a wealth of data while allowing participants to
describe their experiences in their own way and under their own terms. Phenomenologi-
cal studies are rich in personal experiences and provide a more complete or holistic view
of what people experience.

Phenomenological studies can also be flawed if the interviews veer off topic or commu-
nication misunderstandings crop up. For example, some recorded information may be
difficult to understand. In addition, interviews, data analysis, and data interpretation can
be influenced by researcher bias regarding the experience. As mentioned previously, if
a researcher has personally experienced the phenomenon being studied (rape would be
an emotionally charged example), it is possible that he or she may bring preconceived
notions or prejudices to the study, which will in turn influence how the data are collected
and interpreted.

Grounded Theory Study (Qualitative Design)

Unlike most qualitative research, grounded theory does not begin from a theoretical
perspective or theory but rather utilizes data that are collected to develop new theories
or hypotheses. According to Smith and Davis (2010), “A grounded theory is one that is
uncovered, developed, and conditionally confirmed through collecting and making sense
of data related to the issue at hand” (p. 54). Thus, theories are built from “grounded”

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CHAPTER 3Section 3.1 Qualitative and Descriptive Research Designs

data that have been systematically analyzed and reanalyzed. Grounded theory is typi-
cally used in qualitative research; however, grounded theory can utilize either qualitative
or quantitative data (Glaser, 2008), or a mixture of the two. As Glaser posits, grounded
theory is not only considered a qualitative method but a general method in research. For
example, you may use grounded theory as the only method for your qualitative study,
or you may choose to use it as the first step toward identifying constructs and generat-
ing hypotheses about their relationships to one another. You may then want to employ a
quantitative, cause-and-effect design to further test your hypotheses that were developed
from your grounded theory study.

Grounded theory is especially useful for exploring the relationships and behaviors of
groups that either have not been previously studied or have been inadequately studied.
Grounded theory has been used to study a wide variety of topics, such as stress manage-
ment in Olympic champions …