Constraints, Compromises and Choice: Comparing Three Qualitative Research Studies

Authors

Julia Connell, University of NewcastleFollow
Colin Lynch
Peter Waring

Abstract

Although a number of texts explore social research strategies and methods, most are limited to a basic discussion of such methods and their associated advantages and disadvantages. Few if any, evaluate and compare methods in the context of actual research experiences. This paper endeavours to bridge that gap by reporting the experiences of three researchers working on three separate qualitative studies. All three studies were concerned with investigating the social milieu within organizations. While the research questions were different in each case, all the researchers shared a common goal - to develop explanations for complex social phenomena manifest both internally and externally to each organization. The research strategies, methods and data analyses employed are assessed through the personal evaluations of the researchers. Thus, a singular opportunity is offered for other researchers to benefit from the practical insights and lessons learned. The collective experiences of all three researchers suggest that the contextual conditions and constraints of each study force certain compromises, but which importantly, do not compromise qualitative research studies.

Keywords

qualitative research

Publication Date

12-1-2001

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2001.1990

Recommended APA Citation

Connell, J., Lynch, C., & Waring, P. (2001). Constraints, Compromises and Choice: Comparing Three Qualitative Research Studies. The Qualitative Report, 6(4), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2001.1990