Hello,
I am doing a research paper in which I will have to do semi-structured interviews to a group of SMEs from my hometown to analyze and define their needs and interests. Which tradition of qualitative research fits best here?
I discarded Grounded Theory because this would suit better a social research paper (mine is entrepreneurial). It is no use either to do a case study. Phenomenology might be too philosophical for my topic (circular economy: would SMEs have an interest to switch from throwing their glass bottles and recycle them to washing them?). So I'm torn between field research and ethnography. I don't know wich one is better. Does it make it more complicated to use both?
Thank you very much!
Barnabé
Hello Barnabé. I would suggest you return to the books to gain a better understanding of the differences between "paradigms," "traditions," "analytic strategies" and "orientations," to name a few. "Field research" refers to the fact that the researcher(s) is present in the same space as the population of interest- they are "in the field" and not in the office. I am not clear on what has put you into a qualitative approach to your concerns, and not, for instance, a survey. The "entrepreneurial" definitely falls within the "social" sphere- how we provide for our physical necessities is a central organizing principal for our social life.
A suggestion: go back to the beginning and ask yourself
1. What do I want to understand/explore
2. What is the best strategy for learning about that? (information gathering through analysis)
3. How can I operationalize that strategy?
This should help you think about the structure of your inquiry. Good luck!
It sounds like you are following a source that only describes five traditions in qualitative research. Instead, the most common approach to qualitative research is to do semi-structured interviews, followed by thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006). There is no name for that tradition, but it is often the most useful way to do qualitative research.
You have a little confusion because the field research and etnography are tools to aprouch to some phenomena o social problem, is not the methodology. May be you need to draw some basic mental diagrams to see the interrelation between all the factors involved in the research
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