Books and Resources for this Week 8 PSY 7110
Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches
Week 8
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Five Approaches to Qualitative Research
In Week 2, you looked at examples of case studies. However, you ultimately have to decide which design is most appropriate for your research question. You have already looked at the broad differences between qualitative and quantitative research, so this week you will examine different types of qualitative research in more detail.
Your assigned readings this week will be very helpful. There is a very useful figure on page 67 which you should consider as you explore your potential research. Think about the differences between the various methods because they are all used for slightly different research purposes. For example, think about what a lived experience is and how that is different from a non-lived experience. What do you think are the key differences? What are the differences between researching peoples experiences and their actual lived experiences? When is research truly phenomenological and when is it not?
Students often want to conduct qualitative research because they like the idea of talking to participants, or sometimes they want to avoid dealing with anything containing numbers. This weeks readings will show you how precise and difficult conducting quality qualitative research is. Different methods within qualitative research look for different features of a phenomenon, and that is why it is important for you to be able to distinguish between the different methods.
The five main approaches to qualitative research are:
1. Ethnography
2. Narrative
3. Phenomenological
4. Grounded theory
5. Case study
Be sure to review this week’s resources carefully. You are expected to apply the information from these resources when you prepare your assignments.
Week 8 Assignment: Explore the use of Qualitative Research
Instructions
Your task this week is to select a topic area and suggest how you could address a research question in that topic area using two of the five qualitative methods you have read about this week (e.g., grounded theory, a phenomenological approach, an ethnographic approach, a case study, or a narrative approach). Your selected topic can be as broad as you like, such as bullying in schools or the workplace, or understanding the experiences of individuals recovering from drug or alcohol addiction. The topic area you choose will not influence your grade, just your explanations for how you might address a research question in this area of interest.
After selecting your two qualitative methods, prepare an audio PowerPoint presentation for your colleagues to include the following for each method:
Provide your research question and proposed method.
Explain how you would recruit your sample.
Detail the questions you would ask your participants.
Explain the issues that may affect the quality of your data collection.
Explain the approach to your analysis.
Incorporate appropriate animations, transitions, and graphics as well as speaker notes for each slide. The speaker notes may be comprised of brief paragraphs or bulleted lists and should cite material appropriately. Add audio to each slide using the Media section of the Insert tab in the top menu bar for each slide.
Support your presentation with at least five scholarly resources. In addition to these specified resources, other appropriate scholarly resources may be included.
Length: 12-15 slides (with a separate reference slide)
Notes Length: 200-350 words for each slide
Be sure to include citations for quotations and paraphrases with references in APA format and style where appropriate.
