Qualitative Research Procedures and Participant Selection. On the research methodology and design you must determine the appropriate data collection methods to use. For example, if you are conducting a phenomenological study, you are likely to visit with participants individually for a prolonged period of time, or perhaps multiple times as well. You will collect narrative and observational data, along with other evidence to ensure immersion in each participant’s world. Another example would be an ethnographic study of an indigenous group or tribe; in this example, you might have to become embedded with the group, participate in group activities or rituals, and make clear observations of events and interactions. In Week 1, you developed a pair of research questions for which you now must collect data to generate answers. This week’s resources contain explanations on how this could be accomplished. Research is designed to answer questions related to a real-world problem or an issue of theoretical relevance. The goal is to generate answers to research questions that are convincing and demonstrate the effective use of the scientific method by the researcher. Regardless of the method or design, all research should be highly structured, highly modulated, precise, and focused. Your research design is the plan that you will use to carry out your investigation: how will you select participants, what interventions will you choose to make, what are you measuring, and how will you approach questions? Fundamentally, your research design limits the plausible interpretations of the outcome of the events. Data collection conversations, such as interviews and focus group discussions, should be recorded for optimal capturing and transcription of the data. Voice recording applications such as internet meeting platform recorders, cell phone recorders, thumb drive recorders, or even cassette recorders can be used to record the data collection conversations. You will need to obtain the participants’ authorization in writing to record the data collection conversations. This could be a part of the informed consent process. In your dissertation, you will have to write succinctly and clearly to demonstrate your data collection plan. Some sage advice—write this part of your research plan like a recipe: (a) define and describe the ingredients, (b) explain how the ingredients should be combined or manipulated for optimal effect, and (c) richly justify the expected outcome. Qualitative Research Procedures and Participant Selection
During Weeks 3 and 4, you learned about various qualitative research designs. This week, you will build on this knowledge. Select two of the five research designs. Define and explain the features of each design using the resources provided and three other quality resources. Next, develop data collection processes for each of the selected designs that include discussions of sample size, sampling technique, data collection materials, and instrumentation. You can include diagrams if you would like. You are already familiar with the types of instruments used in quantitative data collection, but these are distinctly different from what is useful in qualitative studies. Qualitative instruments must be structured so that you are collecting deep and broad data to fully understand the research question. In most cases, you must design an instrument to extract specific experiential information from your participants. Qualitative Research Procedures and Participant Selection. Data collection can occur through face-to-face interviews, focus groups, or observation; there are also other ways to select qualitative data. When constructing your data collection plan, it must be clear and it must contain all the steps that you will take when collecting information from your participants. You will have to include any secondary data that you will collect. Secondary data can include documents or other evidence that can contribute to understanding the central phenomenon under study. How will you ensure a data saturation? Remember, practices like member checking, follow-up interviews, or transcript review are used by qualitative researchers to ensure data saturation. Ultimately when writing this section of your study, it must be logical, repeatable, and reproducible. Every research decision must be based on accepted research practices; remember to include sources in your research plan to demonstrate the depth of your knowledge and the support of the academic community. Length: 4-5 pages, not including cover and references pages. Your assignment should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards. Be sure to adhere to Northcentral University’s Academic Integrity Policy.