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Nico CoetzeeThis section is dedicated to qualitative research in Information Systems (IS). Qualitative research involves the use of qualitative data, such as interviews, documents, and participant observation data, to understand and explain social phenomena. Qualitative researchers can be found in many disciplines and fields, using a variety of approaches, methods and techniques. In Information Systems we study the managerial and organizational issues associated with innovations in information and communications technology; hence the interest in the application of qualitative research methods.
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Although most researchers do either quantitative or qualitative research work, some researchers have suggested combining one or more research methods in the one study (called triangulation)
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R H"Welcome to the AIS World Section on Qualitative Research in Information Systems (IS). This section aims to provide qualitative researchers in IS - and those wanting to know how to do qualitative research - with useful information on the conduct, evaluation and publication of qualitative research.
The originally accepted work was published in MISQ Discovery in 1997 and is available in the MISQ Discovery archive. This work also received the Value-Added Site award for 1996-97 sponsored by the Academy of Management?s Organizational Communication and Information Systems Division and AIS World. More recently, this work received an ISWorld Challenge Award from the Association for Information Systems in 2004."Qualitative Research Methodologies Methods Information Systems AIS Myers
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Nader Ale Ebrahim"Qualitative Research in Information Systems"
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The motivation for doing qualitative research, as opposed to quantitative research, comes from the observation that, if there is one thing which distinguishes humans from the natural world, it is our ability to talk! Qualitative research methods are designed to help researchers understand people and the social and cultural contexts within which they live.
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objective versus subjective (Burrell and Morgan, 1979), as being concerned with the discovery of general laws (nomothetic) versus being concerned with the uniqueness of each particular situation (idiographic), as aimed at prediction and control versus aimed at explanation and understanding, as taking an outsider (etic) versus taking an insider (emic) perspective, and so on.
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Positivists generally assume that reality is objectively given and can be described by measurable properties which are independent of the observer (researcher) and his or her instruments.
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Interpretive studies generally attempt to understand phenomena through the meanings that people assign to them and interpretive methods of research in IS are "aimed at producing an understanding of the context of the information system, and the process whereby the information system influences and is influenced by the context"
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The main task of critical research is seen as being one of social critique, whereby the restrictive and alienating conditions of the status quo are brought to light. Critical research focuses on the oppositions, conflicts and contradictions in contemporary society, and seeks to be emancipatory i.e. it should help to eliminate the causes of alienation and domination.
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action research is concerned to enlarge the stock of knowledge of the social science community. It is this aspect of action research that distinguishes it from applied social science, where the goal is simply to apply social scientific knowledge but not to add to the body of knowledge.
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It can be used to describe a unit of analysis (e.g. a case study of a particular organisation) or to describe a research method.
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Ethnographers immerse themselves in the lives of the people they study (Lewis 1985, p. 380) and seek to place the phenomena studied in their social and cultural context.
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seeks to develop theory that is grounded in data systematically gathered and analyzed
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The major difference between grounded theory and other methods is its specific approach to theory development - grounded theory suggests that there should be a continuous interplay between data collection and analysis.
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context-based, process-oriented descriptions and explanations of the phenomenon
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Wolcott points out that many qualitative researchers make the mistake of leaving the writing up until the end i.e. until they have got ?the story? figured out. However, Wolcott makes the point that ?writing is thinking?. Writing actually helps a researcher to think straight and to figure out what the story should be.
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Judy O'ConnellWelcome to the ISWorld Section on Qualitative Research in Information Systems (IS). This section aims to provide qualitative researchers in IS - and those wanting to know how to do qualitative research - with useful information on the conduct, evaluation
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14 May 10
Philip GirvanQualitative research involves the use of qualitative data, such
as interviews, documents, and participant observation data, to
understand and explain social phenomena. Qualitative researchers can be
found in many disciplines and fields, using a variquantitative systems technology methodology research qualitative article
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Qualitative research methods are designed to help researchers understand people and the social and cultural contexts within which they live
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Qualitative research methods are designed to help researchers understand people and the social and cultural contexts within which they live.
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Although most researchers do either quantitative or qualitative research work, some researchers have suggested combining one or more research methods in the one study (called triangulation).
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Orlikowski and Baroudi (1991), following Chua (1986), suggest three categories, based on the underlying research epistemology: positivist, interpretive and critical. This three-fold classification is the one that is adopted here.
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Qualitative research can be positivist, interpretive, or critical (see Figure 1).
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For example, case study research can be positivist (Yin, 2002), interpretive (Walsham, 1993), or critical, just as action research can be positivist (Clark, 1972), interpretive (Elden and Chisholm, 1993) or critical (Carr and Kemmis, 1986). T
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Positivists generally assume that reality is objectively given and can be described by measurable properties which are independent of the observer (researcher) and his or her instruments. Positivist studies generally attempt to test theory, in an attempt to increase the predictive understanding of phenomena.
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Action research aims to contribute both to the practical concerns of people in an immediate problematic situation and to the goals of social science by joint collaboration within a mutually acceptable ethical framework (Rapoport, 1970, p. 499).
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For example, from a hermeneutic perspective it is assumed that the researcher's presuppositions affect the gathering of the data - the questions posed to informants largely determine what you are going to find out. The analysis affects the data and the data affect the analysis in significant ways. Therefore it is perhaps more accurate to speak of "modes of analysis" rather than "data analysis" in qualitative research. These modes of analysis are different approaches to gathering, analyzing and interpreting qualitative data
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Hermeneutics can be treated as both an underlying philosophy and a specific mode of analysis (Bleicher, 1980). As a philosophical approach to human understanding, it provides the philosophical grounding for interpretivism (see the discussion on Philosophical Perspectives above). As a mode of analysis, it suggests a way of understanding textual data.
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If hermeneutic analysis is used in an information systems study, the object of the interpretive effort becomes one of attempting to make sense of the organization as a text-analogue. In an organization, people (e.g. different stakeholders) can have confused, incomplete, cloudy and contradictory views on many issues. The aim of the hermeneutic analysis becomes one of trying to make sense of the whole, and the relationship between people, the organization, and information technology.
Good examples of research articles in IS which explicitly use hermeneutics are those by Boland (1991), Lee (1994), and Myers (1994). Myers (2004) provides an overview of the use of hermeneutics in IS research.
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Semiotics is primarily concerned with the meaning of signs and symbols in language. The essential idea is that words/signs can be assigned to primary conceptual categories, and these categories represent important aspects of the theory to be tested. The importance of an idea is revealed in the frequency with which it appears in the text.
One form of semiotics is "content analysis." Krippendorf (1980) defines content analysis as "a research technique for making replicable and valid references from data to their contexts." The researcher searches for structures and patterned regularities in the text and makes inferences on the basis of these regularities.
Another form of semiotics is "conversation analysis." In conversation analysis, it is assumed that the meanings are shaped in the context of the exchange (Wynn, 1979). The researcher immerses himself/herself in the situation to reveal the background of practices.
A third form of semiotics is "discourse analysis." Discourse analysis builds on both content analysis and conversation analysis but focuses on "language games." A language game refers to a well-defined unit of interaction consisting of a sequence of verbal moves in which turns of phrases, the use of metaphor and allegory all play an important part.
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Wolcott points out that many qualitative researchers make the mistake of leaving the writing up until the end i.e. until they have got ?the story? figured out. However, Wolcott makes the point that ?writing is thinking?. Writing actually helps a researcher to think straight and to figure out what the story should be. The motto of every qualitative researcher should be to start writing as soon as possible.
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One solution is for qualitative researchers to treat each paper as a part of the whole.
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A qualitative researcher has to come to terms with the fact that it is impossible to tell the "whole story" in any one paper, so he or she has to accept that only one part of it can be told at any one time.
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- investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when
- the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident
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These techniques range from interviews, observational techniques such as participant observation and fieldwork, through to archival research. Written data sources can include published and unpublished documents, company reports, memos, letters, reports, email messages, faxes, newspaper articles and so forth
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In anthropology and sociology it is a common practice to distinguish between primary and secondary sources of data. Generally speaking, primary sources are those data which are unpublished and which the researcher has gathered from the people or organization directly. Secondary sources refers to any materials (books, articles etc.) which have been previously published.
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Grounded theory is a research method that seeks to develop theory that is grounded in data systematically gathered and analyzed. According to Martin and Turner (1986), grounded theory is "an inductive, theory discovery methodology that allows the researcher to develop a theoretical account of the general features of a topic while simultaneously grounding the account in empirical observations or data." The major difference between grounded theory and other methods is its specific approach to theory development - grounded theory suggests that there should be a continuous interplay between data collection and analysis.
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Taraeta NichollsQualitative Research - Michael D. Myers
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Qualitative research involves the use of qualitative data, such as interviews, documents, and participant observation data, to understand and explain social phenomena
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general shift in IS research away from technological to managerial and organizational issues
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Quantitative research methods were originally developed in the natural sciences to study natural phenomena.
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Qualitative research methods were developed in the social sciences to enable researchers to study social and cultural phenomena.
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Qualitative research methods are designed to help researchers understand people and the social and cultural contexts within which they live.
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Kaplan and Maxwell (1994) argue that the goal of understanding a phenomenon from the point of view of the participants and its particular social and institutional context is largely lost when textual data are quantified.
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ome researchers have suggested combining one or more research methods in the one study (called triangulation)
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Research methods have variously been classified as objective versus subjective
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discovery of general laws (nomothetic) versus being concerned with the uniqueness of each particular situation (idiographic), as aimed at prediction and control versus aimed at explanation and understanding, as taking an outsider (etic) versus taking an insider (emic) perspective,
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based on some underlying assumptions about what constitutes 'valid' research and which research methods are appropriate
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the most pertinent philosophical assumptions are those which relate to the underlying epistemology which guides the research. Epistemology refers to the assumptions about knowledge and how it can be obtained
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Guba and Lincoln (1994) suggest four underlying "paradigms" for qualitative research: positivism, post-positivism, critical theory, and constructivism. Orlikowski and Baroudi (1991), following Chua (1986), suggest three categories, based on the underlying research epistemology: positivist, interpretive and critical.
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the word 'qualitative' is not a synonym for 'interpretive' - qualitative research may or may not be interpretive,
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Qualitative research can be positivist, interpretive, or critical
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the choice of a specific qualitative research method (such as the case study method) is independent of the underlying philosophical position adopted
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Positivists generally assume that reality is objectively given and can be described by measurable properties which are independent of the observer (researcher) and his or her instruments.
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attempt to test theory, in an attempt to increase the predictive understanding of phenomena.
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positivist if there was evidence of formal propositions, quantifiable measures of variables, hypothesis testing, and the drawing of inferences about a phenomenon from the sample to a stated population.
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the assumption that access to reality (given or socially constructed) is only through social constructions such as language, consciousness and shared meanings. The philosophical base of interpretive research is hermeneutics and phenomenology
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understand phenomena through the meanings that people assign to them and interpretive methods of research in IS are "aimed at producing an understanding of the context of the information system, and the process whereby the information system influences and is influenced by the context
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does not predefine dependent and independent variables, but focuses on the full complexity of human sense making as the situation emerges
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Critical researchers assume that social reality is historically constituted and that it is produced and reproduced by people
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change their social and economic circumstances,
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critical researchers recognize that their ability to do so is constrained by various forms of social, cultural and political domination
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main task
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social critique
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Critical research focuses on the oppositions, conflicts and contradictions in contemporary society, and seeks to be emancipatory i.e. it should help to eliminate the causes of alienation and domination.
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A research method is a strategy of inquiry which moves from the underlying philosophical assumptions to research design and data collection.
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Action research aims to contribute both to the practical concerns of people in an immediate problematic situation and to the goals of social science by joint collaboration within a mutually acceptable ethical framework (Rapoport, 1970, p. 499).
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collaborative aspect of action research and to possible ethical dilemmas
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concerned to enlarge the stock of knowledge of the social science community.
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distinguishes it from applied social science, where the goal is simply to apply social scientific knowledge but not to add to the body of knowledge.
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valid research method in applied fields such as organization development and education
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It can be used to describe a unit of analysis (e.g. a case study of a particular organisation) or to describe a research method
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most common qualitative method used in information systems
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- investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when
- the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident
A case study is an empirical inquiry that:
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can be positivist, interpretive, or critical, depending upon the underlying philosophical assumptions of the researcher
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discipline of social and cultural anthropology where an ethnographer is required to spend a significant amount of time in the field.
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immerse themselves in the lives of the people they study
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place the phenomena studied in their social and cultural context
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more widely used in the study of information systems in organizations,
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method whereby multiple perspectives can be incorporated in systems design
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general approach to the wide range of possible studies relating to the investigation of information systems
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seeks to develop theory that is grounded in data systematically gathered and analyzed.
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"an inductive, theory discovery methodology that allows the researcher to develop a theoretical account of the general features of a topic while simultaneously grounding the account in empirical observations or data."
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is its specific approach to theory development
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major difference
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suggests that there should be a continuous interplay between data collection and analysis.
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becoming increasingly common
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prefer the term "empirical materials" to the word "data" since most qualitative data is non-numeri
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techniques range from interviews, observational techniques such as participant observation and fieldwork, through to archival research. Written data sources can include published and unpublished documents, company reports, memos, letters, reports, email messages, faxes, newspaper articles and so forth.
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distinguish between primary and secondary sources of data.
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primary sources are those data which are unpublished and which the researcher has gathered from the people or organization directly. Secondary sources refers to any materials (books, articles etc.) which have been previously published.
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interviews and documentary materials first and foremost, without using participant observation
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distinguishing feature of ethnography, however, is that the researcher spends a significant amount of time in the field. The fieldwork notes and the experience of living there become an important addition to any other data gathering techniques that may be used.
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more accurate to speak of "modes of analysis" rather than "data analysis" in qualitative research
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These modes of analysis are different approaches to gathering, analyzing and interpreting qualitative data . The common thread is that all qualitative modes of analysis are concerned primarily with textual analysis (whether verbal or written).
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Hermeneutics can be treated as both an underlying philosophy and a specific mode of analysis
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philosophical approach to human understanding, it provides the philosophical grounding for interpretivism
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suggests a way of understanding textual data
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primarily concerned with the meaning of a text or text-analogue
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"Interpretation, in the sense relevant to hermeneutics, is an attempt to make clear, to make sense of an object of study. This object must, therefore, be a text, or a text-analogue, which in some way is confused, incomplete, cloudy, seemingly contradictory - in one way or another, unclear. The interpretation aims to bring to light an underlying coherence or sense" (Taylor 1976, p. 153).
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The idea of a hermeneutic circle refers to the dialectic between the understanding of the text as a whole and the interpretation of its parts, in which descriptions are guided by anticipated explanations
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from "pure" hermeneutics through to "critical" hermeneutics,
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If hermeneutic analysis is used in an information systems study, the object of the interpretive effort becomes one of attempting to make sense of the organization as a text-analogue.
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hermeneutic analysis becomes one of trying to make sense of the whole, and the relationship between people, the organization, and information technology.
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semiotics can be treated as both an underlying philosophy and a specific mode of analysis.
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Semiotics is primarily concerned with the meaning of signs and symbols in language. The essential idea is that words/signs can be assigned to primary conceptual categories, and these categories represent important aspects of the theory to be tested. The importance of an idea is revealed in the frequency with which it appears in the text.
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content analysis as "a research technique for making replicable and valid references from data to their contexts."
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searches for structures and patterned regularities in the text and makes inferences on the basis of these regularities.
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In conversation analysis, it is assumed that the meanings are shaped in the context of the exchange (Wynn, 1979). The researcher immerses himself/herself in the situation to reveal the background of practices.
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Discourse analysis builds on both content analysis and conversation analysis but focuses on "language games." A language game refers to a well-defined unit of interaction consisting of a sequence of verbal moves in which turns of phrases, the use of metaphor and allegory all play an important part.
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Narrative is defined by the Concise Oxford English Dictionary as a "tale, story, recital of facts, especially story told in the first person." There are many kinds of narrative, from oral narrative through to historical narrative. Metaphor is the application of a name or descriptive term or phrase to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable (e.g. a window in Windows 95).
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increasing recognition of the role they play in all types of thinking and social practice
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key terms in literary discussion and analysis
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there are many different writing styles and approaches
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The motto of every qualitative researcher should be to start writing as soon as possible.
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expected to publish their work in journal articles.
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a qualitative researcher has to devise a way to carve up the work in such as way that parts of it can be published separately.
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it is impossible to tell the "whole story" in any one paper, so he or she has to accept that only one part of it can be told at any one time.
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potential for an ethnographer to publish many papers from just the one period of fieldwork
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tell the same story but from different angles
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Noah UllmannAlthough a clear distinction between data gathering and data analysis is commonly made in quantitative research, such a distinction is problematic for many qualitative researchers. For example, from a hermeneutic perspective it is assumed that the researc
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Bruno MartinsWelcome to the ISWorld Section on Qualitative Research in Information Systems (IS). This section aims to provide qualitative researchers in IS - and those wanting to know how to do qualitative research - with useful information on the conduct, evaluation
information_systems methodology qualitative research science thesis web
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Angela RandallExcellent introduction to many of the issues relating to qualitative research, with a particular focus on the 'broadly defined information systems perspective. Traditionally IS research has not been qualitative, so this introduction explains clearly what
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elle mThis section aims to provide qualitative researchers in IS - and those wanting to know how to do qualitative research - with useful information on the conduct, evaluation and publication of qualitative research
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Tadhg NagleGreat site for qualitative research resources
information_systems qualitative_research research_methodology research for:wgolden
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Larinioides SuspicaxThis section aims to provide qualitative researchers in IS - and those wanting to know how to do qualitative research - with useful information on the conduct, evaluation and publication of qualitative research.
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Rick KrauseQualitative Research Information Systems qual auckland classification 550 philosophy lis sois
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Welcome to the section on Qualitative Research in Information Systems (IS). This section aims to provide qualitative researchers in IS - and those wanting to know how to do qualitative research - with useful information on the conduct, evaluation and publication of qualitative research
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25 Mar 05
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24 Aug 04
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16 Feb 04
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This section is dedicated to qualitative research in Information Systems (IS). Qualitative research involves the use of qualitative data, such as interviews, documents, and participant observation data, to understand and explain social phenomena. Qualitative researchers can be found in many disciplines and fields, using a variety of approaches, methods and techniques. In Information Systems, there has been a general shift in IS research away from technological to managerial and organizational issues, hence an increasing interest in the application of qualitative research methods.
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