THE METHOD OF JAMES SPRADLEY IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

This paper shows the Developmental Research Sequence Method (DRS Method) developed by James Spradley. This procedure is among one of the most important global approaches in qualitative research. The strategy of Spradley was designed in a didactic way to guide the work of junior researchers whose main technique for the collection of data is the ethnographic interview. The fieldwork turns the observer into a research tool. Thus, there are necessary procedural recommendations for the proper study of the people in their life settings such as workplaces, neighborhoods, hospitals and schools, among others, spaces where individuals develop their daily lives. The basic orientations for the observation and the processing of the information are shown in a sequence of steps. The data comes from the study of phenomena, related to various branches of the social and health sciences, where people are studied in their life context The steps in this method create frameworks that guide the way to perform the analysis of the information. Hence, the researcher receives suggestions that place him constantly between the analysis of data and the collection of information in the field work. The use of this type of recursive technique allows him to adapt the observation, based on the questions and objectives of the study that has been carried out. It is of great help for obtaining data to guide the research towards connected results in the process of knowing, describing and getting recommendations to intervene in the contexts studied.