A500.6.3.RB_LarsonKurt, Qualitative Research

A500.6.3.RB_LarsonKurt, Qualitative Research

Qualitative methodologies can be powerful tools utilized toward our understanding of the educational process that is increasingly gaining momentum.

Researchers that have been instructed in the proper use of quantitative designs tend to face challenges when requested to use or teach qualitative research, and there has been a growing body of laterally professionals who have devoted themselves to qualitative research in education.

Defined qualitative research means, research that produces findings not normally acquired through the primary means of statistical process or quantification and qualitative analysis resulting in a differing degree of knowledge.

Qualitative research and analysis are collocated toward the fictive end of the continuum and without being fictional, statistical research and analysis are not able to take full advantage of interaction and its effects in social settings.

Qualitative research is accepting of complexities and dynamics in the social world, including hosting several paradigms of primary methods of judging methodological quality. This allows for what has come to be known as "situational responsiveness" which is basically an adherence to one paradigm over another. There are various researchers that refer to qualitative and quantitative research that may be effectively comingled into the same research project. It has been said qualitative methods are utilized as a means toward a better understanding of a phenomenon about which yet little is known.

Quantitative methods may be used in acquiring new perspectives of topics about which much is already known, or, as a means toward gaining a more in-depth informative position, which may be difficult to convey quantitatively?

Qualitative research are methods which are appropriate to situations in-which the first order of business are to identify the variables to be be tested quantitatively and at a point in time have been determined quantitative measures do not adequately describe or interpret a situation.

Qualitative data and its ability to fully describe an important situation from both the researcher and reader's perspective, in other words… “If you want people to understand better than they otherwise might, provide them information in the form in which they usually experience it.”

The following list is representative of qualitative research:

1. Qualitative research uses the natural setting as the source of data.

2. The researcher acts as the "human instrument" of data collection.

3. Qualitative researchers predominantly use inductive data analysis.

4. Qualitative research reports are descriptive, incorporating expressive language.

5. Qualitative research has an interpretive character.

6. Qualitative researchers pay attention to idiosyncratic and pervasive uniqueness.

7. Qualitative research is an emergent design; focus on emerging process and outcomes.

8. Qualitative research is judged using special criteria for trustworthiness.

The Role of the Researcher in Qualitative Inquiry:

Qualitative research needs to specify primary questions and strategies for data collection prior to commencing a study; a researcher must do three things:

1. Adoption of a position suggesting the characteristics of a naturalist paradigm.

2. Develop the necessary level of skill for the appropriate study or method data will be     collected and analyzed.

3. Preparation of a research methodology with accepted practices for a naturalistic inquiry.

The above-mentioned items are crucial in maintaining the credibility of a qualitative research report. The confidence that readers have in the researcher's ability toward complete, concise and accurate data and making appropriate decisions in the field will mark the success or failure of a research project.

Research Design and Data Collection Strategies:

For qualitative research to be accurate, there must be a fairly detailed outline from which the study should be conducted and should include the following general steps:

1. Determine a focus for the inquiry and establish a boundary for the study, plus providing inclusion/exclusion criteria for new information.

2. Determine the fitness of the research paradigm to the research focus. The characteristics of the qualitative paradigm with the goals of the research project should be considered.

3. Determine when and where and who will collect the data.

4. Determine milestones of the inquiry.

5. Determine if any additional research instrumentation may be used, or is appropriate.

6. Plan data collection and recording parameters.

7. Plan which data analysis procedures will be used and any acceptable variables are considered appropriate.

8. Plan the logistics of data collection, including scheduling, budgeting and unexpected conditions.

9. Plan the methodology that will be used in the validity process.

In qualitative research researchers should validate a relationship and then test the hypnosis. The naturalistic researcher will assume there is a multitude of realities and attempts toward annotation of the multiple realities adequately. Credibility becomes the litmus test for this since credibility is less dependent upon sample size but rather the content of data gathered and the analytical abilities of the researcher to interpret.

Discussion and Conclusion:

Qualitative research has gained a momentum and increased interest in recent years with a newfound and basic understanding of the paradigm of the technology and education researchers need to complete this research methodology accurately, completely and concisely.

Reference: Hoepfl, M. (1997). Choosing qualitative research: A primer for technology education researchers. Journal of Technology Education, 9(1),