Which qualitative research relates to the past events that are systematically collected and evaluated to describe potential causes effects or trends related to those events?

Components of Quantative (Empirical) Research Papers

• Statement of purpose: what was studied and why 
• Methodology: experimental group, control group, variables, test conditions, test subjects, etc.
• Results: usually numeric and presented in tables or graphs, often with statistical analysis.
• Conclusions drawn from the results 
• References and sometimes footnotes 
• Author credentials

Hint: The abstract (summary) of a research article is the first place to check for most of the components above.  The abstract appears both in a database record and at the beginning of the article.

Types of Qualitative Research

http://wilderdom.com/OEcourses/PROFLIT/Class6Qualitative1.htm

What are the main types of qualitative approaches to research?

While there are many different investigations that can be done, a study with a qualitative approach generally can be described with the characteristics of one of the following three types:

Historical research describes past events, problems, issues and facts.  Data are gathered from written or oral descriptions of past events, artifacts, etc.  It describes “what was” in an attempt to recreate the past.  It is different from a report in that it involves interpretation of events and its influence on the present.  It answers the question: “What was the situation?” 

Examples of Historical Research:

• A study of the factors leading to the historical development and growth of cooperative learning
• A study of the effects of the historical decisions of the United States Supreme Court on American prisons
• A study of the evolution of print journalism in the United States through a study of collections of newspapers
• A study of the historical trends in public laws by looking recorded at a local courthouse

Ethnographic research develops in-depth analytical descriptions of current systems, processes, and phenomena and/or understandings of the shared beliefs and practices of a particular group or culture.  This type of design collects extensive narrative data (non-numerical data) based on many variables over an extended period of time in a natural setting within a specific context. The background, development, current conditions, and environmental interaction of one or more individuals, groups, communities, businesses or institutions is observed, recorded, and analyzed for patterns in relation to internal and external influences.  It is a complete description of present phenomena.

One specific form of ethnographic research is called a case study.  It is a detailed examination of a single group, individual, situation, or site. 

A meta-analysis is another specific form.  It is a statistical method which accumulates experimental and correlational results across independent studies.  It is an analysis of analyses.

Examples of Ethnographic Research:

• A case study of parental involvement at a specific magnet school
• A multi-case study of children of drug addicts who excel despite early childhoods in poor environments
• The study of the nature of problems teachers encounter when they begin to use a constructivist approach to instruction after having taught using a very traditional approach for ten years
• A psychological case study with extensive notes based on observations of and interviews with immigrant workers
• A study of primate behavior in the wild measuring the amount of time an animal engaged in a specific behavior

Narrative research focuses on studying a single person and gathering data through the collection of stories that are used to construct a narrative about the individual’s experience and the meanings he/she attributes to them.

Examples of Narrative Research:

• A study of the experiences of an autistic student who has moved from a self-contained program to an inclusion setting
• A study of the experiences of a high school track star who has been moved on to a championship-winning university track team

What is the systematically collected information about the past?

Is a qualitative method where there is an examining of past events to draw?

What concerned with the identification location evaluation and synthesis of data from past event?

What is qualitative historical analysis?