Finding more focus in a qualitative study
The writer will read the article and then will carefully respond to the two main questions raise here
below. It is important that the writer read carefully the questions and also the section of the article require
for the information needed. The writer must also cite all references listed in the reference section,
meaning the writer cannot just include a reference on the reference list without using it within the body of
the paper. The writer must also include all DOI where necessary and follow proper APA style in formatting
the paper.
Finding More Focus in a Qualitative Study
You must always consider the research method you plan to use when collecting your data. This can have
an impact on how you proceed. The five research approaches can vary in the variety of information
collected, the scope of the issues, and the invasiveness of the data collection effort.
� Using the qualitative article assigned to you last week. Review the methodology section and compare
and contrast the design and the method with the information you have learned from the Creswell course
text.
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� Analyze and discuss the recursive relationship between research methods and data collection
techniques and how that can help to bring focus to your study.
Finding more focus in a qualitative study
Qualitative methodology was the research methodology of choice employed in the article.
The research method utilizes general open-endedquestions that do not formulate a hypothesis.
On the contrary, quantitative research method appliesclose-ended questions that are
structuredconcerning a set of hypotheses. Also, qualitative methods structure the questions with
words while quantitative methods encompass numeric values. The fundamental concept studied
in the study is the attributes that define ethical business decision making. The relevance of the
qualitative methodology to the study was because the qualitative nature of the objective of the
study that was to explore life experiences of the participants.
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Interviewing the members with open-ended questions provided a detailed study beyond
an ordinary conversation thus makes this form of research methodology more appropriate for the
study. This methodology is applicable when the researcher tries to find out and highlight
emotions and bring texture to a research project.
The research design applied in the study is phenomenological, a qualitative analysis of
narrative data. This model is employed when describing themes, meaning of findings and general
lived experiences of the study participants. The application in the study was to allow a deeper
understanding of the nature and causes of a leader’s tendency to behave in an ethical manner and
to make moral decisions. While collecting data in thephenomenological study, the participants
description of the experience or occurrence is obtained by use of an in-depth interview,
observation, oral or written self-report and through aesthetic expressions such as narratives. After
the analysis of the data, a report is then written which has a proper description of the experience.
Interpretation is based on the data collected and the researcher’s perspective.
Other qualitative research designs such as ethnography are applied when conducting a
study that concerns the cultural characteristics a group of people ora certain cultural scene. Case
study research is another approach to qualitative research that gives a detailed description of one
or a few instances. Grounded theory is another approach used to generate a theory from raw data
or to test anearlier grounded theory (Creswell, 2009).The data collection methodvary according
to the type of research design employed.
In quantitative studies, ideas are generated which are further be used to formulate
therealistic hypothesis that can be statistically analyzed and comprehensively tested with
standard quantitative research methods. Quantitative research designs, unlike the qualitative
FINDING MORE FOCUS IN A QUALITATIVE STUDY 4
research design, use standard formulas ofgenerating ahypothesis to be accepted or rejected. The
hypothesis has to be proved statistically. It is the basis around which the research design is
formulated. Mathematical methods of data collection are employed (Creswell, 2009).
The relationship between research methods and data collection techniques.
The process of data collection involves measuring and assembling information on the
variables of interest following an organized way that ensures evaluation of the results of research
or study. Choice of the method of data collection depends on the method used in research
method applied. A qualitative research design will employ qualitative data collection method
while quantitative research design will utilize quantitative data collection method.
Qualitative research data collection methods either involve direct interaction with
individuals in a group or individually. These methods includestandard features such as they are
open-ended and have lesser structured procedures, they rely on deeper and more interactive
interviews so as to acquire detailedand reliable data.; observations, action research, individual
interviews, focus groups and document review (Vogt, 2010). To begin with,observation this
involves the researcher becoming the observer of the participants in anatural setting to facilitate
the understanding of the phenomena. The researcher will utilize methods such as note taking,
description reports, photographs for instance of buildings and video recording
Another method of qualitative data collection is by use of interviewsthat could either be
depth or in-depth.Qualitative interviews are informal and involve thought, adequate preparation
and development of a schedule. The researcher may formulate the interview questions based on
the research topic and the interviewee. Coverage of the issues is thus detailed and efficient.
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(Vogt, 2010) The interview questions can be unstructured, semi-structured also known as
focused interviews or structured.
Focus groups that are group interviews consisting of 6-10 individuals enhance the
capturing of participant emotions perceptions and opinions. Focus groups are utilized when
resources required to carry out the research are inadequate and when the collective discussion is
essential for the phenomena under study. The advantage of this method is that with the dynamic
nature of the group greater understanding of the cause and the subject matter may be developed.
On the other hand, Quantitative data collection methods involved random sampling and
structured data collection mechanisms that are appropriate for the preset response groups. Since
quantitative research is concerned with hypothesis testing.Depending on the research question,
the participants are randomly assigned to different treatments. Also data may be collected
depending on participant and situational characteristics. The main quantitative research data
collection techniques include; questionnaires, observations, interviews.
Quantitativerepresentation may involve the use of a checklist recording the presence, frequency
and incidence of predetermined scenarios. Although it is time-consuming, this method
providesvaluable insights and fine details of how the participants behave and interact.
Questionnaires are used to collect uniform data from several people. They consist of the
same number and set of questions that are then used to get information from a carefully selected
or randomized sample of people. The questionnaires can then filled in by the participant or asked
in a formal way by the researcher. Questionnaire questions should have the elements of
simplicity, precision to make the process of data analysis easier and more efficient.
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The quality and reliability of data is fundamental in defining the end results of any
research or study.Therefore, it is important to choose the method according to the respective
research design. Every research methodology confers to a particular and appropriate method of
data collection. Qualitative research is mainly based on exploring opinions ideas and underlying
reasons. It helps develop ahypothesis for quantitative research. Quantitative research provides a
way of generating useful statistics from numerical data using quantifiable variables.
References
Bcps.org, (2015). Baltimore County Public Schools.
