Theme 6 - Qualitative and case study research (part 1)

Part 1

Paper: “Sheltered in Cyberspace? Computer use among the unsheltered "street" homeless”, by Eyrich-Garg, K.

Journal: Computers in Human Behavior, 27 (2011),296-303

Impact factor: 2.273 

The purpose of this study is to assess, qualitatively and quantitatively, the internet and computer use of 100 unsheltered homeless men and women in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Which qualitative method or methods are used in the paper? Which are the benefits and limitations of using these methods?

In this exploratory study, participants were interviewed using an interview template called the Homeless Supplement to the Diagnostic Interview Schedule. This template was created solely for the purpose of this study and it uses the Addiction Severity Index in order to differentiate the living situation of the participants. Before performing the qualitative and quantitative tests, scientific literature studies were conducted. In these studies, only two published peer-reviewed journal articles were detected that focused on homeless adult computer use. One of which studied 7 individuals and the other focusing on drug users. I think that this lack in previous research means that the basis for this study affected the decision of implementing qualitative research studies. Since this is an exploratory study, I find it especially suitable to use qualitative research methods. Simply put, qualitative methods are appropriate when we don’t know what to expect. They can help in defining the problem or develop an approach to it. The methods used in this particular study were interviews. The interviews conducted were of the type mixed “methods” and ran from 1-4 h in length. The term “mixed methods” mean that they can utilize multiple methods and intentionally integrate or combine these methods to draw on the strengths of each. It can also mean focuses on research questions that call for multi-level perspectives, real-life contextual understandings and cultural influences. I think that it is a bit weird that this paper was posted in the qualitative papers section as it utilizes both qualitative and quantitative data. I therefore find it difficult to draw weaknesses from the research methods because they often complemented each other.

What did you learn about qualitative methods from reading the paper?

I mainly learnt about the screening process required in order to select participants at the start of the research study. This is a relevant and necessary procedure done to equalize the participant representation. I also learnt about the mixed methods approach to qualitative research.

Which are the main methodological problems of the study? How could the use of the qualitative method or methods have been improved?

What I think the study failed to accomplish was to take in aspects of exaggeration and untruthfulness when touching subjects that can be deemed difficult or sensitive to test participants. For example, some people might exaggerate their access to technology in order to seem more up to date and connected with the society and new information technology. The researchers conducting the study asked control questions during the screening process, but this was mainly to make sure that the participants actually represented the target group (homeless unsheltered people). Only one test subject’s results was omitted because it provided “suspect data”. Because the interview locations varied I think that the qualitative methods could be improved by using a more unified test environment. 26 of the interviews were conducted by students, while 74 were conducted by the investigator himself. By unifying these factors I think the test results might have been slightly more reliable.

Part 2

Paper: “The tweets that killed a university: A case study investigating the use of traditional and social media in the closure of a state university”, by Kelling, N. J., Kelling, A. S., & Lennon, J. F.

Journal: Computers in Human Behavior, 29 (2013), 2656-2664 

Impact factor: 2.273

Briefly explain to a first year university student what a case study is.

A case study is an multi-method (eg. both quantitative and qualitative) research type that provides an in-depth analysis of a particular situation. A typical case study often relates to a real life scenario and it aims to clarify a broader and complex area of investigation. If the area or case is completely unknown, the case study may serve as a concluding or theory-generating practice.

Use the "Process of Building Theory from Case Study Research" (Eisenhardt, summarized in Table 1) to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your selected paper.

The case is clearly defined and delimited to how information was distributed and how opinions were shared among students at a unique series of events at the University of South Florida Polytechnic. The researchers used multiple methods to detail data collected from student surveys and data mining sources. Along the study, data analysis of social media use and the dissemination of information, online comments and a student survey revealed how informed and active the affected students were during the events. A hypothesis regarding the increased use of Twitter and social medias, during the events, was formed. While the twitter traffic increased, as hypothesized, the data presented an unexpected outcome. Although Twitter was utilized heavily during the set of events, students were not the ones using it. Data suggested that the students used a more classic approach to express opinions; like talking to friends and relatives, writing or emailing politicians and signing petitions. The researchers concluded that a paradigm shift seems to have taken place. Instead of assuming that social media is a tool used mainly by younger adults, it has now become a frequent tool for a wider range of users, for instance journalists and politicians. A possible weakness of the study was that participants were of a relatively high median age (30.3 years), perhaps resulting in an unrepresentative target group. The researchers confined the case study to a single event and university, which might also have lead to unrealistic or skewed data. 

I think that this case study somewhat followed the “Process of building theory from case study research”, even though the theoretical conclusions were a but unrepresentative and lacking in the end. What this paper showed and taught me was how case study results can go in any unexpected direction and that they utilize several different methods and means of analysis on the way.