The paper describes different types of qualitative research methods, connecting the proposed research to grounded theory and providing the rationale for that choice. The role of the researcher as an instrument of the inquiry is discussed, and the researcher is located in the stages of qualitative research. Additional consideration is given to the multiple methods or mixed methods research approach.
Roles of Theory in Qualitative Research & Application
Qualitative Research
Write a two page Journal entry on how well you are understanding the roles of theory in qualitative research and how this applies to your Final Project and to your Dissertation.
Thinking About Qualitative Research Theory. Qualitative research approaches are grounded in theoretical frameworks that make certain assumptions about the world, about how qualitative research is best conducted, and about the type of research questions and solutions are acceptable for the research approach, and about the criteria that appropriate for trustworthiness (which is the equivalent proof in quantitative research approaches). When researchers take a qualitative approach, they consider the world to be socially constructed by people's individual perceptions. Qualitative researchers depend on respondents' accounts to provide explanations for observed behaviors and shared thoughts. The qualitative research approach does not begin with a hypothesis to be proven or disproved -- a step that implies the researcher has a definitive idea about the answers to the research questions. Some qualitative research proponents use as a metaphor for a qualitative researcher the idea of a tourist, who approaches new information without preconceived explanations.
Qualitative research theories include: Ethnographic, grounded, interpretive, naturalistic, subjective, and phenomenological. An ethnographic approach has its origins in anthropology in the culture of a society is the unit of analysis. Ethnographic research convention was originally identified with a discrete study of one particular ethnicity in a certain geographical location. The research tradition has been extended to apply to any particular group of people, including organizations and networks. The most well-known form of ethnographic research is participant observation in field research (Dwyer & Buckle, 2009). In participant observation, the ethnographic researcher takes a total emersion approach, becoming an active participant, recording field notes which are coded and then analyzed for emerging themes.
Considering Qualitative Theory for My Research. As I have studied the various approaches to research, I have come to a point where I believe a multiple methods approach would provide a deeper level of analysis about my topic: human trafficking rates. The absolute numbers of human trafficking by gender are of interest to psychologists, social workers, healthcare providers, criminal justice systems, and agencies that address international relations. I have been considering that for each number -- for each tick mark tabulating a victim of human trafficking -- there is a human story that can inform the fight against human trafficking. Using a mixed method approach, I will still be able to investigate the rates of human trafficking through quantitative procedures, while delving into the perceptions and accounts of people who have been victimized and rescued by using qualitative approaches.
The qualitative approach that I believe is most applicable to my research is grounded theory. Developed by Glaser and Strauss in the 1960s, grounded theory is a qualitative research method that develops theory that is rooted (grounded) in observation. Grounded theory is an iterative process that builds theory over time, and relies on data collection from multiple sources. At the beginning of the process, generative questions are raised that serve only to guide the research. The questions are not intended to constrain the research process in any way. As data is collected, the researcher begins to identify core concepts related to theory development. The researcher proceeds to compare the data and theoretical core concepts in order to identify connections, which are commonly referred to as themes. As the data collection moves forward, the researcher spends time summarizing and verifying the data. This may take the form of member checks -- during which respondents are asked if the researchers summarizations of their accounts are accurate, and are given a chance to elaborate for greater clarity -- or data triangulation, in which data from different sources is reviewed for corroboration.
The qualitative component of my research takes place against a background of phenomenology, the philosophical framework that focuses research on the perceptions and interpretations of their subjective experiences (accounts). A phenomenologist's goal is to understand "truth" as it seems to the others being researched.
Role of the researcher in the data collection procedure is described.
Qualitative researchers become immersed in the situation they are studying. The qualitative researcher is aware that she filters the data through her own perceptual lens. Qualitative research is not just a modified version of quantitative research. Indeed, "[t]o become a qualitative researcher requires a whole new way of thinking about what counts as evidence" (Xu and Storr, 2012). The beginning qualitative researcher learns to essentially become the research instrument, developing the skills necessary to evoke and collect rich, thick data and practicing to establish the habits of interpreting data completely and in a nuanced manner that is "congruent with the philosophical underpinnings of the research and reflective of the complexity" of the data (Xu and Storr, 2012).
A qualitative researcher codes data in order to be able to later categorize the qualitative information, and to capture the category details and the implications of the data. Coding moves from an open coding process, during which the first categories emerge from the data, to selective coding where the researcher codes systematically in a manner that reflects the core concepts that are being identified. Conceptual categories or their elements are derived from the data. Memoing is used in an ongoing fashion to record the subjective ideas and perceptions of the researcher. In concert with the evolution of the coding process, memoing begins as an open process similar to the notes one might make in the margins of reading material, to memoing that increasingly hones in on the theoretical core concepts.
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