week four discussion psy635
PSY635 Research Design and Methods Week 3 Guidance
Welcome to Week 3! This week, we will begin to learn about qualitative research methods. In qualitative research, there is more of an emphasis on philosophy than in quantitative research. This week’s assignments include a discussion and a written assignment.
As mentioned last week, the eBooks for this course are found in the ebrary database in the Ashford Library. If you have not already done so, you will need to create a user name and password for ebrary. You can search for the eBooks you need and save the references to your bookshelf. Then, each time you log in, it will be easy to find and open the books you need for the course. Assigned readings this week are Chapter 1 in the Frost (2011) eBook, and the article by Ponterotto (2013).
After completing the readings and activities for the week, you will be able to:
Differentiate between qualitative and quantitative research paradigms. Evaluate philosophical viewpoints that guide qualitative research approaches. Summarize literature on qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods of research.
Last week, we considered experimental research designs, which fall into the broad category of quantitative research methods. These designs involved measurement (assigning numerical values to characteristics or observations), statistical analysis, and hypothesis testing – concepts that do not apply to qualitative research designs. Qualitative methods involve using words and/or pictures instead of variables and numbers (Frost, 2011). Various forms of a process called coding are used in qualitative research to analyze data in the form of words. Qualitative researchers strive to avoid preconceived notions, so their studies do not begin with a hypothesis. Some approaches to qualitative research, such as grounded theory, may end with a hypothesis as the result of the research. The hypothesis might then be tested by a quantitative researcher in a new quantitative study, but qualitative research itself does not involve hypothesis testing.
While sampling for a quantitative study may be random or some other type of probability sampling, qualitative sampling tends to be purposive. That is, the researcher seeks out individuals who have experienced the topic of the study and are willing and able to speak about it in detail. Sample sizes in quantitative research tend to be large in order to have enough data for statistical analysis. Relatively small sample sizes are used in qualitative research, because the aim is to go deep instead of wide. Being able to generalize findings is not as much of a concern in a qualitative study because it does not claim to necessarily apply to everyone.
Research reports in quantitative research are expected to be written in the third person with no use of “I” or “we.” An intentional distance is kept between the researcher and those being studied in an effort to maintain objectivity. However, in a qualitative study, the researcher gets close to the research participants and engages in dialog with them as equals in order to learn their viewpoint and understand their experience on a subjective level (Ponterotto, 2013). In research reports, a qualitative researcher “writes in a literary, informal style using the personal voice” (Creswell, 2007, p. 17).
Concepts and terms such as validity, reliability, and inter-observer reliability or agreement are associated with quantitative research methods. All of these terms have numerical ratings and researchers strive to get as high a score as they can to show that their research is worthwhile. Qualitative researchers, on the other hand, prefer terms such as trustworthiness, dependability, and credibility, and they do not use numbers to measure these characteristics. Trustworthiness is supported by thick description, reflexivity and bracketing (which is when researchers explain their backgrounds and acknowledge how their own worldview might affect how they perceive the participants’ experiences), and member checking (having the participants read the final report to see if it really expresses their experience). None of these characteristics would be found in a quantitative research report.
As Ponterotto (2013) notes, quantitative research is based on the paradigm of positivism, the philosophical view that there is one objective reality which can be agreed on and measured. Although qualitative research is sometimes referred to as a paradigm, it actually involves more than one paradigm. Researchers must look within themselves to discover their own philosophical paradigm or worldview and choose their qualitative methods based on the paradigm and the nature of the research question. Three major qualitative paradigms are discussed in Ponterotto’s article – post positivism, constructivism-interpretivism, and critical-ideological perspectives. Think about which one of these expresses how you see the world and the nature of knowledge, and what you hope to accomplish with your research.
In this week’s discussion, consider the differences between qualitative and quantitative research approaches, and how the research topic from last week’s discussion might benefit from a qualitative study. What qualitative methods would you recommend for investigating the research questions given in the discussion prompt? Which qualitative paradigm best expresses your beliefs and values, and how does your worldview influence your choice of qualitative methods?
Your assignment for the week will be to write a literature review about four different research designs, one from each of these categories: non-experimental, quantitative experimental,
qualitative, and mixed methods. The journal articles you will need to include must not be research studies. Instead, they must be articles written about the research designs and how to use them. An excellent resource for finding this type of article is the Research Methods research guide in the Ashford Library. From the Library home page, click on Research Guides, then click on Psychology, then Research Methods. The guide contains general information, videos, and a list of articles about various research methods. Click on the Suggested Articles tab to see three lists of articles (qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods). You can also search the Library’s databases using the name of the research design as a keyword. If you need assistance with the search, you can reach a librarian through live chat 24/7, or during available phone hours. See the announcements and the Library home page for details.
In the paper, begin by briefly describing the topic you chose in Week 1. Then provide a research question that could guide a qualitative study and a hypothesis that could be tested in a quantitative study. Summarize each of the four articles about research designs you have found. Compare and contrast the different designs by discussing their similarities and differences. Include comments about the paradigm (worldview) implied by each research design. How might you use each of the selected research designs to investigate your topic? Which type of research design appeals to you most and fits with your own view of the world?
As I was preparing this guidance, I realized that some of the recommended resources for this week had been left out of the course website. If you have time, reading these resources will help you understand the history and possibilities of qualitative research approaches. All of these are available in the Ashford Library. Dilley (2004) presents a review of three books on the topic of interviewing in the context of qualitative research. The author discusses how each book relates the concepts of epistemology and ontology to the practice of conducting interviews for data collection in a qualitative study. An article by Medved and Turner (2011) presents a candid look at what reflexivity is and how it permeates the practice of qualitative research. The authors share interesting examples of reflexivity from their previous research studies. If you are interested in an account of the place qualitative methods have held throughout the history of the field of psychology, you will enjoy the article by Wertz (2014).
If you have any questions about this week’s readings or assignments, email me at [email protected] or post your question on the “Ask Your Instructor” forum. Remember, use the forum only for questions that may concern the whole class. For personal issues, use the email.
References Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Dilley, P. (2004). Interviews and the philosophy of qualitative research. Journal of Higher