Descriptive and interpretive approaches to （描述性和解释性的方法）.pdf

HRMC-11.qxd 01.07.2005 03:36 PM Page 147 Chapter 11 Descriptive and interpretive approaches to qualitative research Robert Elliott and Ladislav Timulak Qualitative research methods today are a diverse set, encompassing approaches such as empirical phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, protocol analysis and dis- course analysis. By one common definition (Polkinghorne, 1983), all these methods rely on linguistic rather than numerical data, and employ meaning-based rather than statistical forms of data analysis. Distinguishing between measuring things with words and measuring them in numbers, however, may not be a particularly useful way of characterising different approaches to research. Instead, other distinctive features of qualitative research may turn out to be of far greater importance (Elliott, 1999): ◆ emphasis on understanding phenomena in their own right (rather than from some outside perspective); ◆ open, exploratory research questions (vs. closed-ended hypotheses); ◆ unlimited, emergent description options (vs. predetermined choices or rating scales); ◆ use of a special strategies for enhancing the credibility of design and analyses (see Elliott, Fischer and Rennie, 1999); and ◆ definition of success conditions in terms of discovering something new (vs. confirming what was hypothesised). Space limitations preclude a complete survey of this rapidly growing field of research methods. Instead, we will focus on what are today regarded as established, well-used met