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Too many researchers erroneously think that #qualitative data are not useful for generating explanation or understanding causation.
A π§΅
Sure, qual data analysis is NOT designed to generate universal laws causally linking together decontextualized independent variables. But...
A π§΅
Sure, qual data analysis is NOT designed to generate universal laws causally linking together decontextualized independent variables. But...
Most qualitative researchers are not interested in proposing general laws, but are instead focused on generating explanations of contextualized activity -- and rich qualitative data are extremely valuable for such purposes.
Indeed, qualitative field research can be far BETTER than solely quantified approaches at developing explanations about LOCAL causality - which consist of the local events and processes that have led to specific outcomes in a specific context or case.
Questions such as βHow did a series of marital disputes lead to divorce?β; βWhy are some teachers more successful than others?β or βHow did this unfair healthcare law come to be interpreted as normal?β are questions of local causality (Tracy, 2020). amazon.com/Qualitative-Reβ¦
See Maxwell (2020) for more detail on using qual field data to understand causality (may be especially apropos if you are a case study researcher interested in policy). journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.11β¦
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