Day 5 respond to two of your colleagues� postings, giving priority to those that have fewer than
two responses so far. In your responses, be sure to address the following:
�Address the content of each colleague�s statement, as well as his or her alignment to the worldview
types noted in the course text.
�Pose a follow-up question to each colleague for further Discussion.
�Link each colleague�s posting to other colleagues� postings or to other course materials and
concepts, where appropriate and relevant.
�Include proper APA citations for the course text, readings, and any external sources consulted in the
preparation of your posting.Business
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Colleague #1 Simon
It is good that you understand what research is and the purpose it serves. In addition to
this, you need to be aware that research not only confirms theories, but also enables us to come
up with new ones, adjust or accept existing theories, or nullify the theory altogether (Merrian,
2009). We also avoid guess work about what we are researching on because research uses
scientific principles to come up with reliable conclusions in all fields. It is through research, you
should be aware, that discoveries are made and unsolved problems find answers. Being
conversant with the various research designs is useful if you are to select the most appropriate
one for your kind of study. Apart from the three approaches you have mentioned, you should
also be aware of advocacy/participatory research, whose main goal is to bring a positive impact
upon the life of the research subject (Creswell, 2009 ). Your choice of a combination of
quantitative and qualitative approach, also called pragmatic approach, is appropriate since it is
more flexible since you may apply the techniques that are used in both qualitative and
quantitative research methods. The mixed method approach to research is also most ideal
because it appreciates the facts that each method has its own limitations, and so employing both
methods somehow neutralizes the likely biases. It also has the benefit of triangulation, which
allows for the use of data from various sources. Worldviews are important and helps in
appropriately selecting the type of research design. Social constructivism, as a world view,
regards human being as living in different social realities and researcher’s goal in this case is to
gain an understanding about what is being researched, as opposed to making predictions
(Neuman, 200). The most preferred method of research by most social constructivists are
qualitative methods, but to avoid bias because of its subjective nature and inability of
generalization of results, mixed method increases research credibility. There are several
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questions few questions though that you need address. What research approach would you use to
ensure accuracy and that you conclusions are not biased? How would you know that your
theories are accurate?
Colleague #2 Kevin
Positivism worldview relies heavily on scientific evidences and this is especially suitable
for you. Positivists view the world realistically and apply a great deal of science in testing of
hypothesis. Your real world view is, however, critical realism, which is a pragmatic approach.
Post positivists require that you carefully observe and measure objectively the reality existing in
the environment (Silverman, 2010). The most appropriate research design in this case is
quantitative research, since it is best suitable for your worldview preference. There is however
more freedom of using other research techniques as you may prefer, as long as you meet your
intentions. The data you collect here also needs to be subjected to statistical analysis. Unlike
social constructivism, critical realism possesses explicit values, which are very precise. You
need to know that you need to have a hypothesis, and not necessarily one hypothesis, but several
of them can be used, and you need to establish their relationships through examining the
variables, since your research relies on quantitative research method (Borg, 2004). Some
questions worth considering here include what data collection method would you use for your
research? What reasons would you have for your preferred data collection method? And finally,
what types of questions would you include in your questionnaire?
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References
Borg. B.L. (2004) Qualitative Research Methods.Boston: Pearson.
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods
approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Merriam, S.B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San
Francisco: John Wiley and Sons.
Neuman, W. L. (2000). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (4th
ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Silverman, D. (2010). Doing qualitative research (3 ed.): Sag.
