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Qualitative Research Mystery Case Cards

Instructions for Students:

1. You will receive a set of mystery case descriptions.
2. Read each case carefully.
3. Your task is to identify which qualitative research design was used:
- Grounded Theory
- Narrative Inquiry
- Phenomenology
- Ethnography
- Case Study
4. Use clues from the case to support your reasoning.
5. Be prepared to explain your choice to the class.

Tip: Focus on elements like data collection method, researcher’s role, sampling, and outcome focus.

Case 1: The Village Chronicles

Arjun, a PhD student, spent eight months living in a remote fishing village in Terengganu to explore how local fishermen pass down knowledge to younger generations. Rather than relying solely on interviews, he engaged in everyday activities — fishing at dawn, attending local ceremonies, and participating in daily village routines.

Arjun’s goal was to understand not just what people said, but how they lived, what they valued, and how cultural practices were maintained. He took extensive field notes and recorded conversations, behaviors, and rituals. His work resulted in a thick description of life in the village, giving readers a vivid, contextualized view of local traditions.

His long-term involvement built trust with villagers, allowing him to capture nuanced insights through participant observation and informal dialogue.

✅ Correct Answer :  Ethnography

Case 2: Voices from the Ward

Dr. Aisha is conducting a study titled “Being a Nurse During COVID-19.” She has interviewed several nurses about their emotional and psychological experiences during the pandemic. Her central interest lies in how these nurses make sense of working under life-threatening and emotionally taxing conditions.

Before conducting interviews, Dr. Aisha documented her own memories of working in a hospital years ago to bracket her perspective and avoid influencing the findings. She asked each participant two core questions: “What was your experience like during the height of the pandemic?” and “What situations influenced those experiences?”

She did not begin the study with a hypothesis or theory, but rather tried to capture the essence of each individual’s lived experience. The final write-up is a rich description of emotional themes common across all participants.

✅ Correct Answer : Phenomenology

Case 3: One Life, Many Layers

Farid is working on a project involving Adam, a refugee who resettled in Malaysia after fleeing his home country. Over six months, Farid builds a strong rapport with Adam, engaging in multiple conversations, revisiting memories, and co-creating a personal story that captures Adam’s life journey — before, during, and after displacement.

The study includes not only interviews but also personal artifacts like photos, letters, and journal entries that add emotional texture to the narrative. Farid ensures the final account reflects Adam’s voice and experiences authentically. The result is a chronological, storied narrative that reflects resilience, identity shifts, and adaptation in a new land.

Farid’s role as both interviewer and co-constructor of the story shapes the inquiry, making this a deeply collaborative and reflective process.

✅ Correct Answer: Narrative Inquiry

Case 4: From Chaos to Clarity

Linda is curious about how first-time entrepreneurs in Malaysia make decisions during the early months of launching a business. She begins interviewing startup founders without starting from a specific theory — instead, she collects and analyzes the data simultaneously, adjusting her interview questions as new patterns emerge.

Her approach uses constant comparison: comparing new data with previously coded interviews to develop categories. She continues interviewing until theoretical saturation is reached — when no new insights appear. Linda develops a conceptual framework that explains how decision-making evolves during the startup journey.

Her theory is not tested but generated inductively from the data, reflecting the voices and processes shared by participants.

✅ Correct Answer: Grounded Theory

Case 5: Inside the Company Walls

A team of researchers is conducting an in-depth study of a growing tech startup in Kuala Lumpur to understand how internal communication affects employee retention. The researchers focus on a single organization, collecting data through employee interviews, internal emails, HR documents, and meeting observations.

Their goal is to explore how and why certain communication practices emerged during the company's rapid expansion. The study is bounded by time (the past 12 months) and place (one organization).

They apply a protocol to ensure systematic data collection, keep a database, and aim to maintain a chain of evidence for future analysis. Their study ultimately provides insights that may apply to other startups, but it remains deeply rooted in this one organizational context.

✅ Correct Answer :Case Study

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Maisarah 835033

Case 1 : Ethnography

Arjun lived with villagers, observing and daily through particapant

Casw 2 : Phenomenolgy

Dr Aisha explored nurses lived experience during covid-19, focusing on emotional meaning

Case 3 : Narrative Inquiry

Farid co-created Adam ' s life story using iv and personal artifacs over time

Case 4 : Grounded Theory

Linda built theory from iv, analyzing data continuosly using constant comparison method

Case 5 : Case study

Reseaches examined one startup's internel comm. within a specific time and organizational context