¶ … data collection for phenomenological research done? State the method then explain/Illustrate. Phenomenological research is grounded in the personal and subjective perspective. It falls into the larger category of qualitative research which is not theory-driven, but rather discovers the relationships among phenomena. (Patton, 2002). Phenomenological research can be considered inductive in nature as it moves from the specific to the general, unlike positivist experimental research which begins with general theories and tests specific hypotheses in a deductive fashion (Patton, 2002). Phenomenological research is field-based and requires the researcher to make observations which are analyzed for emerging themes (Patton, 2002).

What 5 key factors determine whether to use qualitative research or quantitative research? Explain.

Qualitative methods are used when researchers are interested in the meanings of human experiences rather than measurements of manifestations of human experience (Patton, 2002). Qualitative methods are useful when it is important to get a holistic picture of a phenomenon rather than focusing on individual parts of a phenomenon (Patton, 2002). When subjective accounts are important to a study, qualitative measures are preferred over quantitative measures which are objective and explanatory (Patton, 2002). When it is not possible to explain or study a phenomenon through quantitative, experimental methods, qualitative methods can provide descriptive informative data (Patton, 2002). Qualitative research methods can provide access to insights into human behavior that are not available through quantitative methods (Patton, 2002). On the one hand, the nature of the information to be gained may not be available through quantitative methods and, on the other hand, experimental control and manipulation may not be feasible with the population under study. In both of these cases, qualitative methods are used instead of quantitative approaches.

Based on your answers in question 2 above, find 3 areas in your work Explain why in either case.

Qualitative research is appropriate for the study of the experiences of phlebotomists, respiratory therapists, and X-ray technicians who work in hospital settings and are often incidental observers of patient care (Patton, 2002). The objective of study with these three different types of caregivers would be to better understand how they view their roles, how they function as members of the health care team, and how they address cross-departmental issues in patient care that arise in the course of their itinerant roles.

What are persons with special knowledge about a particular culture who are willing to share them with an ethnographer called? Explain in each case.

The general term for people with special knowledge about a culture is key informant (Patton, 2002). A key informant will have arrived at deeper insights and unique perspectives about their own culture as a result of the positions they have earned in their respective societies (Patton, 2002). They are observes by nature and cultivate an interest in those around them (Patton, 2002). They may speculate or develop theories about why things are the way they are in their own culture or society (Patton, 2002). Key informants may conform to the expectation of their society, or they may be mavericks or marginal agents who hold extreme and unusual views (Patton, 2002).

If you wish to study the relationship between pain killers and physical therapy, what type of literature review would you consider? Explain in detail.

A study that explores the relationship between physical therapy and pain killers will need to review literature from the fields of medicine, pharmacology, psychology, and communication (Creswell, 2009). The need for reviewing the literature from the fields of medicine and physical therapy is readily apparent. But since the perception of pain is related to emotional states, the literature from the field of psychology will be relevant to any research proposed, as will literature from the area of communication. Differences exist in the ways that different cultures communicate about their personal experiences, such as perceptions about pain and illness or disease -- there are gender and age differences, as well (Patton, 2002). Interventions of any kind can alter the perception of pain, so a researcher who is interested in the influence of physical therapy on pain perception will want to review literature that addresses interventions of many different types, not just physical therapy. For instance, do patients express reduced pain perception if they are asked to rate their pain in a group setting rather than in private? Or, do patients express reduced perception of pain if they are asked to rate their pain in the morning, in the afternoon, or in the evening? And, if patients report reduced pain perception in association...

physical therapy, what would the focus of your literature review be? State your reasons and explain.
The purpose of the proposed study is to add to the literature on pain reduction in patients and/or people receiving physical therapy treatment or taking pain medication. That said, the researcher planning this proposed study would be interested in exploring variables that have the potential to ameliorate the perception of pain. The benefits of pain killers are already established in the literature and, so too, are the drawbacks pain killers. The proposed research is not intended to expand on either those benefits (such as reduced inflammation, etc.) or those disadvantages (such as numerous potential side effects), but rather to identify if alternatives to pain killers are of benefit, and perhaps -- if the study is sufficiently robust -- to identify the degree of benefit that could be derived from exposing patients to alternatives to pain medication (Creswell, 2009). In this proposed study, the alternative to pain mediation is physical therapy.

In your answer to question 6 above, identify the concepts and variables. What is the difference? Explain.

The benefits of pain killers and physical therapy are important to the research in terms of how patients perceive their pain in association with these interventions -- the focus of the literature would be patient perceptions of pain and communication of the levels of pain. Patient pain perception -- reported levels of perceived pain -- is the dependent variable that would be measured in proposed study. The independent variables are the types of interventions, in this case pain killers and/or physical therapy (Creswell, 2009).

List and explain each step in the formation of a formal research problem. You may use a particular research question that is of great interest to you.

A research proposal begins with an idea or a question (Creswell, 2009). Preliminary inquiries about the idea are conducted with colleagues, one's scientific networks, and by scanning the research (Creswell, 2009). These initial efforts help to formulate a topic or a phenomenon of interest (Creswell, 2009). These steps are the same whether the proposed research is quantitative or qualitative (Creswell, 2009). Let's assume the topic is the practice of T'ai Chi as a method for increasing flexibility and reducing pain and stiffness in people with arthritis. I will review the literature to see what types of studies have been conducted on this topic and what the outcomes of the studies have been for all research types (Creswell, 2009). From the literature review, I have determined that I want to use a mixed methods approach in my research, and my research problem is the effect of regular practice of T'ai Chi on arthritic joints and on the perceptions of people with arthritis who engage in T'ai Chi regularly (Creswell, 2009). I will employ both quantitative and qualitative methodology in the study of the effectiveness of T'ai Chi, using a quantitative measures to test my hypothesis that the regular practice of T'ai Chi improves flexibility in joints affected by arthritis, and I will use qualitative measures to explore the perceptions of individual with regard to the reduction of pain and stiffness their joints affected by arthritis (Creswell, 2009).

State your formulized research question from question 7 above. (30-50 words)

For what period of time following physical therapy do patients, on average, report reduced perception of pain? Other research questions related to and supporting this one include (Creswell, 2009): What percentage of patients report reduced pain perception following physical therapy? What conditions associated with substantive perception of pain are mediated by physical therapy sessions? Is there an identifiable duration -- as there is with most pain medication -- when the influence of physical therapy diminishes?

A research method that compiles data and facts regarding various people, occurrences, and events that happened in the past is referred to as a historical research method. Give examples of data collected, including the possible variables involved in such a study. Explain your choices. (50-100 words)

An example of an historical research study would be to examine the documentation associated (Creswell, 2009) with non-SS forced labor camps under governmental agencies and/or private industrial firms. Data collection will include documentation and archival holdings of the library belonging to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), and requires that the researcher be a fluent reader of German and other Central-European…