Good Morning,
I am a fist year PhD'er and I am having some difficulty getting my head around methodologies.

For the first part of my project I will be carrying out interviews with some 'key players' in the field, I have developed an open semi-structured interview schedule to use. I am going to code and analyse the data and any themes identified will help direct the rest of my research.

I am however going around in circles trying to decide on a theoretical perspective and would appreciate any help or book/paper recommendations.

My Problems:
Grounded Theory: I have already undertaken a literature review. I cannot guarantee data saturation as I have a limit to the number of 'key players'.

Phenomenology: I am hoping to elicit the views and opinions of my key players and produce themes from these. I will therefore not be look for the human experience specifically.

Thematic analysis: Seems to be a method used in most methodologies rather than one in its own right.

Thanks in advance,
Adam

Hi Adam, I understand why you are finding it difficult as it really is very slippery stuff-all shades of grey and no black and white. Have you thought about case study as a method at all?

Creswell outlines 'case study' as a legitimate methodology in its own right in his book Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design Sage Publications (2013).

HIs case study design-which can include multiple cases that explore an issue, event or concern uses interviews, observations, etc. (He provides an example such as teenage pregnancy-or something similar being 'the case'-a multiple case study would involve studying, interviewing and observing multiple participants and/or multiple research sites).

Creswell states that

" A key to understanding analysis also is that good case study research involves a description of the case... . In addition, the researcher can identify themes or issues or specific situations to each case. A complete description of the case would then involve both a description of the case and themes or issues that the researcher has discovered in studying the case" p 99.

Even if this doesn't seem right for you, the book is well worth a look for all of its advice-the other one possibly to look at is Yin (2009), Case Study Research (4th ed.) Sage Publications.

Good luck with it all...

Many thanks, the Cresswell book is proving very useful. I am now leaning more towards a phenomenological orientation. Now on to interview preparation!

Adam

Can I only use observation method when conducting PhD research. The focus is my own office. I intend to write about conflict management.

Do you think there might be the danger of too much leaning towards subjective bias if you are conducting research in your own office and that consists of observation only?

I am assuming that you are the observer? Are you allowed to video or record participants or are you relying on 'field notes'?

My own preference would be to have at least one other source of 'rich' data that you collect where participants are more 'active' and have the ability to shape responses more than if just being 'observed', (even if you are applying a rigorous methodology to the analysis). Although when interviewing in your own workplace, you also need to be careful about the 'balance of power' and confidentiality of participants and participant data. But this would also apply to observations as well. Or maybe observed participants could be given the opportunity to comment on and validate your records and observations of conflicts in action.

In my own study, I have had to remove my own workplace as a source of external data and could only use it as part of my own experience (in the small sections in introduction where I include my own experiences). This was ruled out in the ethics committee application. My supervisor tended to think it would be okay which was why I included my workplace along with others initially. However, she comes from a different methods background and I am her first doctoral student. The ethics committee included several academics from a wide range of research experience and some of them had a different perspective.

The first piece of advice I can give is not to go in thinking about how you will be generating your data. This is why an understanding of the different methodological approaches is so vital. There should be no problem situating your research in the office and doing observation, but use aspects such as unsolicited conversations, and documentary evidence or even photo elicitation to support the observations. Subjective bias is fine as long as it is acknowledged and built into your methodology. Acknowledge your reflexive role throughout the data generation process. Wolcott (and many others discuss making the familiar strange and the strange familiar if you are close to the circumstances). Even simple things pinned on notice boards may say something, or the lack of something on a noticeboard may also be important. For example, when I have used documentary evidence in the past there were always things like rules pinned up, and often loads of notices would be pinned over the top of them - basically that was saying something in itself. For anything 'ethnographic' I would recommend (as well as Creswell, 2013) that you look at Wolcott - Ethnography / Wolcott - The Art of Fieldwork / Wolcott - Transforming Qualitative Data and definitely Ethnography: Principles and Practice - Hammersley & Atkinson (2008).

I personally wouldn't touch Grounded Theory. For Phenomenology, you will need a series of very in-depth interviews with the participants. Is it your co-workers lived everyday experiences that your question focuses upon? The main issue with methodology is to ensure that it is fit for the purpose of the research question. Many of the different qualitative methodologies share similar means of collecting data anyway. For example you could have an ethnographic case study or grounded theory informed by ethnography. I personally find narrative or biographical as the most interesting methodologies. Depending upon your question and what you want to find out, this will ultimately shape your methodology and the methods that you use to generate your data (Remember that there is a distinction).

Best of luck. Let me know a rough question and I can post further advice if interested.