Assignment: Qualitative Research Methods

Assignment:Qualitative Research Methods
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Assignment:Qualitative Research Methods

Assignment:Qualitative Research Methods
This week will allow you to apply what you have been learning along with the information gathered for your 10 Strategic Points. You will use “mock” data to complete your study.

Qualitative research is a scientific method of observation to gather non-numerical data.[1] This type of research “refers to the meanings, concepts definitions, characteristics, metaphors, symbols, and description of things” and not to their “counts or measures”. This research answers why and how a certain phenomenon may occur rather than how often.[2] Qualitative research approaches are employed across many academic disciplines, focusing particularly on the human elements of the social and natural sciences;[3] in less academic contexts, areas of application include qualitative market research, business, service demonstrations by non-profits,[4] and journalism.[1]

As a field of study, qualitative approaches include research concepts and methods from multiple established academic fields. The aim of a qualitative research project may vary with the disciplinary background, such as a psychologist seeking in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior for example. Qualitative methods are best for researching many of the why and how questions of human experience,[3] in making a decision for example (not just what, where, when, or “who”); and have a strong basis in the field of sociology to understand government and social programs. Qualitative research is widely used by political science, social work, and education researchers.[5][6]

In the conventional view of statisticians, qualitative methods produce explanations only of the particular cases studied (e.g., as part of an ethnography of a newly implemented government program), any general conclusions beyond the study context are considered tentative propositions (informed assertions), since the general propositions are not usually arrived at on the basis of statistical theory.[citation needed] Quantitative methods are therefore needed, to seek mathematical evidence and justification for such hypotheses for further research.

In contrast, a qualitative researcher might argue that understanding of a phenomenon or situation or event, comes from exploring the totality of the situation (e.g., phenomenology, symbolic interactionism), often with access to large amounts of “hard data” of a nonnumerical form. It may begin as a grounded theory approach with the researcher having no previous understanding of the phenomenon; or the study may commence with propositions and proceed in a ‘scientific and empirical way’ throughout the research process (e.g., Bogdan & Taylor, 1990).[7]

We can distinguish between those which follow the logic of quantitative methods in their rules and criteria and make generalizations in a numerical sense (i. e. from numerous cases to more numerous cases), and those clearly qualitative methods where interpretations and generalizations are not based on the frequency of occurrence of certain social phenomena but on a logic of generalizing from an individual case, whether this case is a personal biography, an organization or a particular milieu or social setting; this includes making microscopic and thick descriptions (see Geertz 1973) of the phenomena in which we are interested, likewise with the aim of generalizing from an individual case.

— Gabriele Rosenthal, (2018: 13): Interpretive Social Research. An Introduction. Göttingen: Universitätsverlag Göttingen.
A popular method of qualitative research is the case study (Stake 1995,[8] Yin 1989[9]), which examines in depth ‘purposive samples’ to better understand a phenomenon (e.g., support to families; Racino, 1999);[10] the case study method exemplifies the qualitative researchers’ preference for depth, detail, and context, often working with smaller and more focused samples, compared with the large samples of primary interest to statistical researchers seeking general laws.[3]

Qualitative methods are an integral component of the five angles of analysis fostered by the data percolation methodology.[11] These methods may be used alongside quantitative methods, scholarly or lay reviews of the literature, interviews with experts, and computer simulation, as part of multimethod attitude to data collection and analysis (called Triangulation).[3]

To help navigate the heterogeneous landscape of qualitative research, one can further think of qualitative inquiry in terms of ‘means’ and ‘orientation’.[12] In particular, one could argue that qualitative researchers often reject natural science models of truth, prefer inductive, hypothesis-generating research processes and procedures (over hypothesis-testing models), are oriented towards investigations of meaning(s) rather than behaviour, and prefer data in the form of words and images, that are ideally naturally derived (e.g. in-depth observation as opposed to experimentation).[13]

Assignment:Qualitative Research Methods

General Requirements:

1. Use “Assignments Document” and Mock Interviews to complete this assignment.

2. This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

3. Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The APA Style Guide is located in the Student Success Center.

4. You are not required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.

Directions:

1. Code the data.

2. Present the results in a table similar to Table 1 in Assignment Tables document.

3. Create a codebook in a table similar to Table 2 in Assignment Tables document.

4. Words or Phrases That Appear Frequently

5. Create a table for each theme similar to Table 3 in Assignment Tables document.

6. Inductively Developed Themes

7. Write a report of the results. Include an introduction, discussion of your sample and instruments, data analysis, results, recommendations, and references.

8. See complete directions in “Assignments Document.”

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

Assignment:Qualitative Research Methods

Assignment:Qualitative Research Methods

Assignment:Qualitative Research Methods