Quantitative Research : Qualitative Research

Power point slide Qualitative research is a difficult term to define…. Nevertheless, it is important to be familiar with some definitions in the field. The definition provided by Creswell 2009 is enlightening because it incorporates ……….. most important part of definition for me were reports detailed views of informants and natural setting.

Within this assignment we are asked to identify if the research article that we choose for this unit is either a phenomenological approach or a generic qualitative approach was used, and then describe the physiognomies the evidence to support the identification. We then must explain and identify the main phenomenon that was under investigation in the research; describe the qualitative approach to analyzing the data in this study; describe what the data collection process as well as the role of the researcher; and evaluate the scientific merit of the selected approach. Next we will discuss how did the approach we used (either phenomenology or generic qualitative) help the researcher to answer the research question, and how differently might we have designed the research study differently?

Silverman, D., 2013. Doing qualitative research: A practical handbook. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Pulications Limited.

The approach of this study will take the epistemological position and a qualitative research design. Humphries (2008) asserts that qualitative research focusses on the subjective and recognises that the researcher will affect the data that is produced and therefore the outcome of the research. Denzin & Lincoln (2005:3) state that “Qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings attempting to make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them”. Quantitative research on the other hand, claims to be objective, removing the researcher’s views and values from the study. While traditionally quantitative data has been deemed to produce more reliable or valid data, it does not suffice to capture the complexities of the human experience as it assumes a positivist epistemology.

Qualitative research reflects different ways that researcher’s collect data and explore all of the information through literature review. Participant’s that are reviewing is often observed for analysis while “the role of the researcher focuses as the primary data collection instrument necessitates the identification of personal values, assumptions and biases at the outset of the study; Qualitative researchers ask at least one central question” (Creswell, 2014, which can be explored in several contexts with further questions. According to the text Research Design (2014) “the researcher’s role is typically involved in a

Qualitative research is valuable to discover how people think or feel, either in an individual or group basis (Pole and Lampard, 2002). The researcher should observe and document behaviors, opinions, and other information, even if they don’t understand its relevance (Silverman,

Researchers who uses qualitative study for addressing a problem they are interested in are most often confronted with enormous background knowledge they could use to make their research more successful. (Flick, 2007)

The method of qualitative research become key method in the human and social science and also in the education and health science. The definition of qualitative research is a research using methods such as participant observation or case studies which result in a narrative, descriptive account of a setting or practice. Sociologists using these methods typically reject positivism and adopt a form of interpretive sociology (Parkinson & Drislane,2011). It involves the research using data that do not indicate ordinal values. Furthermore, qualitative research includes the different kinds of data collection, techniques of analysis and diversity of theoretical frameworks (Guest; Namey & Mitchell, 2013). According to Creswell(2013) ‘’the final written report or presentation includes the voices of participants, the reflexivity of the researcher, a complex description and interpretation of the problem, and its contribution to the literature or a call for change.

Qualitative research gathers information that is not in numerical form (McLeod, 2008). Qualitative therapy is descriptive data used to find out the ways in which participants think or feel, this is best used in case studies. The main methods in collecting qualitative data are, individual interviews, observations, written documents, and field research. Found, the greater use of qualitative research methods, can provide a greater focus on meaning-making and perspective (Midgley, Ansaldo, and Target, 2014). Additionally; with a qualitative approach, participants are not constrained by predetermined items on a specific measure that may or may not relate to them personally (Hill, Chui, & Baumann, 2013).

A qualitative methodological approach was the obvious choice in that it allows for the collection and interpretation of stories, narratives, interviews and other forms of non-quantifiable data. A qualitative approach also does not demand or strive for detached objectivity of the researcher but instead encourages the disclosure of researcher bias and the engagement of the researcher with the research and subjects, often in the role of participant-observer (Dade, Tartakov, Hargrave, & Leigh,

The title of this research study is: The internet and student research: teaching critical evaluation skills. I believe that this title is suitable for the research study because it is an overview of the information that relates the point of the study itself which indicates a connection between students and their use of the internet when it comes to utilizing the internet as a research tool. The study reflects the central phenomenon by exploring

The more ‘extreme’ positions in the debate between qualitative versus quantitative research state that qualitative research is “unscientific, anecdotal, and saturated by the opinions of the researcher”, whereas the latter is “not representative of human behaviour” (Natasi & Schensul, 2005).

Maxwell (2005) also notes that qualitative research can be used to address various issues and is not restricted to one ontological stance. The method also involves developing a relationship with the people one is studying, an aspect that is important in defining the authenticity of the data and determining the course of action.

Most important, both quantitative and qualitative research methods are fundamental towards fulfillment of voids; or perhaps, gaps of unknown phenomena from a vast existent body of knowledge. For example, “research is a systematic process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting information (Leedy & Ormrod, 2013, p. 2). For example, research does not consist of merely locating information pertaining to a topic presented within an argumentative stance based entirely on theories derived from various sources without substantiated evidence utilized in accordance with research procedures that prove otherwise.

Data and method needs some more careful details and discussion. First, there is no clear discussion how the sample of qualitative interviews was selected. This is very critical for implications of the study and its limitations.