Keyton: Communication Research, 5e IM–1
Chapter 16
Qualitative Methods of Data Collection
Activity: Using Stimulated Recall in Interviewing
At least 3 days prior to this classroom exercise, tell students that they will be interviewed about one of
In class, put students into pairs. The partners should take turns interviewing each other. The
interviewer in the pair should ask the interviewee to recall in detail the school incident that profoundly
affected the way he or she communicates. Interviewers can use the following questions, as appropriate,
to help interviewees describe their experiences:
• What do you remember seeing in this experience?
• Who was present during this experience?
• What do you remember hearing during this experience?
• What do you remember smelling during this experience?
• What do you remember tasting during this experience?
• How did you act, react, or interact during this experience?
• How do you view this incident today?
• What accounts for the changes in your view of the experience then and now? This exercise was
developed from an exercise suggested by Janesick (1998).
Activity: Being Flexible with Interviewees
Ask students to identify a communication topic for which they can generate several research
questions. Ask them to develop an interview outline. Next, ask students to select two individuals
Debrief the interviewing assignment in class using the following questions to guide class
discussion:
• How did these two interviewing experiences differ?
• Which interview was easier? Why?
Activity: Interviewing Techniques
The interaction between researcher and research participant can be constructed in two different ways.
The first type of interviewing is think-alouds. In this technique, the researcher asks a question and the
participant verbalizes what he or she is thinking. The researcher rarely comments—and when doing so
Keyton: Communication Research, 5e IM–2
only encourages the participant to continue to talk (e.g., “please continue”). The second type if verbal
probing, in which the researcher allows the participant to respond to questions, but then asks questions
Source: Matteson, S. M., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2009). Using multiple interviewers in qualitative research
studies: The influence of ethic of care behaviors in research interview settings. Qualitative Inquiry,
15, 659-674. doi:10.1177/1077800408330233
Activity: Evaluating Interviewers
How should we train students to do interviews? Practice certainly. But taking training a step further,
assign students to dyads to interview one another. Audio or video record each interview. After the
Activity: Observing Focus Group Professionals
Despite all that one can read about focus group facilitation, there is no substitute for watching a
professional focus group facilitator in action. If you, one of your colleagues, or someone in your
Activity: Practicing Focus Group Moderation
With the entire class, develop a focus group moderator outline for a school-related topic (e.g., how to
increase school spirit, how to increase attendance at university-sponsored sporting or cultural events,
members have been the moderator, use the following questions to guide class discussion:
• What are the difficulties in being a focus group moderator?
• What makes the role easy?
• What communication skills do focus group moderators need?
• How easy was it to follow the focus group outline?
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• What occurred during your turn as moderator that was unexpected?
• How well did you handle that unexpected activity or behavior?
10.1080/1740462042000339203
Activity: More than Words in Focus Group Research
Professors Matoesian and Coldren (2002) encourage us to not restrict focus groups to the evaluation of
what was said. These researchers provide a nonverbally notated transcript of a focus group that draws
our attention to the linguistic and physical nonverbal that accompany small group interaction, which
reveal power differences and conversational assumptions.
Matoesian, G. M., & Coldren, Jr., J. R. (2002). Language and bodily conduct in focus group evaluations of
legal policy. Discourse & Society, 13, 469-493. doi:10.1177/0957926502013004454
Activity: Collecting Stories
As a class, decide on one type of story to which many people could relate (e.g., stories about interaction at
a particular holiday; how they created an in-group with their friends in high school, and, at the same
time, differentiated themselves from an out-group; going on their first date). Everyone collecting the
same type of story must use the same stimulus question. As a homework assignment, ask students to
Activity: Integrating Narrative and Autoethnography
For more experienced students, Professor Lapadat describes a class research project in which students
collaborate in collecting and analyzing their life stories. Thus, the data collection she describes integrates
narrative collection and autoethnography.
Keyton: Communication Research, 5e IM–4
Activity: Ethnographic Study
A student’s neighborhood, dorm, or apartment is a good place in which he or she can conduct an
ethnographic study. Because students live in a variety of housing types, their reports will be interesting
to others. The following questions may help focus their observations:
• Who are the people in your neighborhood?
• How would you describe the range of people in your neighborhood?
• How do you fit in?
• What are the physical and geographical boundaries of your neighborhood?
• What are the emotional boundaries of your neighborhood?
• How do any of these boundaries influence communication among neighbors?
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Worksheet—Designing Qualitative Research
Read one of the journal articles mentioned in Chapter 15. Use this article to answer the questions on this
worksheet. Attach a copy of the article to the completed worksheet.
APA citation for the article:
2. Assume you are the researcher. Write the purpose statement for this research project as it would be
developed before data collection began.
4. How did the author gain access to the interaction setting observed? If the author did not reveal this
information, what procedures would you use to gain access in a similar research project?
5. How did the author establish credibility of the data collected?
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Worksheet—Using Qualitative Methods
Read one of the journal articles mentioned in Chapter 16. Use the article to answer the questions on this
worksheet. Attach a copy of the article to the completed worksheet.
APA citation for the article:
1. Which methodology is featured in this article?
3. How would you describe the strengths of this research study?
4. How would you describe the limitations of this research study?
5. If you were to conduct a similar study, what adjustments or revisions would you make to the research
design? Why?
Additional Resources
Daas, K. L., & McBride, M. C. (2014). Participant observation: Teaching students the benefits of using a
framework. Communication Teacher, 28, 14-19. doi:10.1080/17404622.2013.839045
Jensen, R. E., Christy, K., Gettings, P. E., & Lareau, L. (2013). Interview and focus group research: A
content analysis of scholarship published in ranked journal. Communication Methods and Measures,
7, 126-133. doi:10.1080/19312458.2013.789838
Kacmar, K. M., & Hochwater, W. A. (1996). Rater agreement across multiple data collection media.
Journal of Social Psychology, 136, 469-475.
Keyton: Communication Research, 5e IM–7
Kahl, D. H. (2010). Connecting autoethnography with service learning. A critical communication
pedagogical approach. Communication Teacher, 24, 221-228. doi:10.1080/17404622.2010.513036
Koermer, C., Goldstein, M., & Fortson, D. (1993). How supervisors communicatively convey immediacy
to subordinates: An exploratory qualitative investigation. Communication Quarterly, 41, 269-281.
Lunt, P., & Livingstone, S. (1996). Rethinking the focus group in media and communications research.
Journal of Communication, 46, 79-98.
Roulston, K. (2012). The pedagogy of interviewing. In J. F. Gubrium, J. A. Holstein, A. B. Marvasti, & K.
D. McKinney (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of interview research: The complexity of the craft (2nd ed.,
pp. 61-74). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Young, L. B. (2017). PhotoVoice participatory action research for the communication classroom.
Communication Teacher, 31, 226-230. doi:10.1080/17404622.2017.1358381
Keyton: Communication Research, 5e IM–8
Trujillo, N. (1998). In search of Naunny’s grave. Text and Performance Quarterly, 18, 344-368.
Trujillo’s essay is an autoethnography or study of his experiences with and remembrances of his
grandmother.
Web Resources