Qualitative Research in Practice : Stories From the Field - Blogs Unpad
Qualitative Research in Practice : Stories From the Field - Blogs Unpad
Qualitative Research in Practice : Stories From the Field - Blogs Unpad
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<strong>Qualitative</strong> research <strong>in</strong> practice<br />
Yvonne:<br />
Liz:<br />
you can work out which data are ‘sett<strong>in</strong>g-<strong>the</strong>-scene’<br />
and come at <strong>the</strong> beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g, which are <strong>the</strong> more<br />
complex data <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> middle and <strong>the</strong>n which are <strong>the</strong><br />
data that give you some k<strong>in</strong>d of clear <strong>in</strong>sights. If you<br />
don’t have that, or <strong>the</strong>re are too many possible threads<br />
to follow, <strong>the</strong>n it is actually quite difficult, because it’s<br />
hard to know what to select ...whe<strong>the</strong>r this bit of<br />
data goes with this, or with that. I suppose one of <strong>the</strong><br />
th<strong>in</strong>gs you do, is that you use <strong>the</strong> more quantitative<br />
data as <strong>the</strong> scene-sett<strong>in</strong>g—this is how many, this is<br />
how much of this, how much of that—and <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong><br />
qualitative data enables you to explore. I th<strong>in</strong>k a lot of<br />
times qualitative data are used as a k<strong>in</strong>d of illustration,<br />
a sort of more accessible description, but <strong>the</strong>re are<br />
also o<strong>the</strong>r ways that you use it. One of <strong>the</strong> ways we<br />
use it is to show contradiction. For example, <strong>the</strong>re is<br />
one lot of police officers who understand arrest <strong>in</strong> this<br />
way, and ano<strong>the</strong>r lot of police officers who understand<br />
arrest <strong>in</strong> a different way. <strong>Qualitative</strong> data helps us to<br />
communicate some of <strong>the</strong> complexity and <strong>the</strong> dilemmas<br />
as well. Quantitative data can’t give you a sense<br />
of <strong>the</strong> actual mess<strong>in</strong>ess of real life, and qualitative data<br />
can show you that—okay, yes, <strong>the</strong>re are some police<br />
officers who are offensive and whatever, and <strong>the</strong>re are<br />
some who are great, but most of <strong>the</strong>m are struggl<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to know what to do, and to make sense of often<br />
conflict<strong>in</strong>g messages. I don’t th<strong>in</strong>k I was as clear about<br />
that when I wrote it, as I am now, and I don’t th<strong>in</strong>k<br />
that it is stated <strong>the</strong>re as strongly as I would now.<br />
Was that about hav<strong>in</strong>g time and distance from <strong>the</strong><br />
study, or someth<strong>in</strong>g else?<br />
It is partly that this was <strong>the</strong> first piece of research<br />
where <strong>the</strong> police were subjects, and it is partly through<br />
talk<strong>in</strong>g with researchers from o<strong>the</strong>r countries who<br />
have also done research on <strong>the</strong> police, <strong>in</strong> relation to<br />
domestic violence. In dialogue, I th<strong>in</strong>k I have come<br />
to see that actually, un<strong>in</strong>tentionally, <strong>the</strong> demands of<br />
<strong>the</strong> women’s movement have placed <strong>the</strong> police <strong>in</strong> a<br />
quite complicated position, because on <strong>the</strong> one hand<br />
<strong>the</strong> demand has been for more victim-centred and<br />
empa<strong>the</strong>tic understand<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> response, but on <strong>the</strong><br />
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