Qualitative Research in Practice : Stories From the Field - Blogs Unpad

Qualitative research in practice
participants in qualitative research projects (Collaizzi, 1978; Wertz
& van Zuuren, 1987; Polkinghorne, 1989). With specific reference to
phenomenological research, Polkinghorne sees it as a requirement
that research participants have ‘the capacity to provide full and
sensitive descriptions of the experience under investigation’ (1989,
p. 47). For Wertz and van Zuuren, participants need to have or be
able to ‘develop some significant relationship with the phenomenon
under study’ (1987, p. 11).
If this condition were present in every participant, we would
have the ‘dream team’ of research participants. This is, of course, not
always possible. In Chapter 5 we talk with Tim and Wendy Booth
about their approach to interviewing people with an intellectual
disability, people who, while certainly having experience of the
research topic, have limited capacity to report it articulately.
There is no easy answer to the question as to how many participants
are required for a qualitative study. It really does depend on
the study. Generally speaking, there will be both theoretical and
practical considerations. Theoretically, optimal numbers will be
determined by the research topic and question—what you are
wanting to find out, from whom, and the likely variability of experience
of the phenomenon under investigation.
Theoretical sampling (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin,
1990, 1998) is a useful approach to selecting participants, whether or
not all the stages of grounded theory are being used in a particular
study. In theoretical sampling, the researcher engages in a cyclical
process of data collection, analysis and further data collection. After
the first few interviews, further participants are sought specifically
for their capacity to help fill gaps in the data that are thrown up in
analysis.
Covering the range of experiences involves deliberately seeking
out people whose situations and experiences are different from
those already obtained, in order to obtain the broadest possible
reach of the range of perspectives on the topic under investigation.
The process is sometimes referred to as negative case analysis
(Strauss & Corbin, 1990; Morse, 1994). Such cases ‘don’t necessarily
negate our questions or statements, or disprove them, rather they
add variation and depth of understanding’ (Strauss & Corbin,
1990, p. 109, bold in original). Later in this chapter, Angelina Yuen-
Tsang talks in some detail about how she used a similar process to
obtain the participants for her study.
As a general rule, the relative diversity or homogeneity of
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