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Week 11 Research Journal

 Carter et al: "The Use of Triangulation in Qualitative Research" Triangulation: the use of multiple methods or data sources to understand what is being studied; tests validity through convergence Method triangulation: multiple methods within the same study (field notes, observations, and interviews on same topic, for example) Investigator triangulation: Multiple researchers for multiple observations and conclusions Theory triangulation: Analyzing and interpreting data with different theories. Data source triangulation: Collecting data from different types of people to gain multiple perspectives and validate data A good deal of this article focused on comparing in-depth interviews and focus groups to demonstrate that while these seem like very different approaches, they can be used to triangulate data (along with things like observations) to create a successful study. Methods are usually selected based on the best fit for the research question. Pros and Cons of Combining IDI ...
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Week 8 Research Journal

Creswell and Poth, Chapter 4: Narrative Research Narrative can be the phenomenon being studied or the method used in a study Definition by Czarniawska (2004): "narrative is understood as a spoken or written text giving an account of an event/action or series of events/actions, chronologically connected." So this means that if I were to use various oral history interviews focusing on one event (like mining disasters, for instance), I could use the narrative method. Now it makes sense why some people assume I'm doing a narrative project when I tell them I'm working with oral histories! Procedures: focusing on studying one or two individuals gathering data by collecting their stories reporting their individual experiences ordering the meaning of those experiences Narrative research emerged from a LOT of different fields and is considered to still be developing; it is different from narrative inquiry, however. Defining Features: STORIES! (This is majorly important!) Exper...
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Week 7 Research Journal

Kunter (in Gawlik), Chapter 9: Discourse Analysis Discourse analysis focuses on the use of language to shape society and individuals' interaction with society Everything is socially constructed Texts do not have to be written; art, music, architectural design can all be considered texts as they actively construct meaning. Images are particularly powerful texts when used in marketing products. Because all meaning is constructed, and must be agreed upon by the players in the event, we can't ever know what actually happened in said event. We can only ever hear socially accepted constructions of what happened. Discourse analysis: the study of texts There has to be a balance between text and context This really stood out to me: "a fixed, final, and monological interpretation of a given subject is not possible." This is why I love studying language and literature. As I tell my students, nothing is written in a vacuum; everything the author lives through influences them. Con...
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Week 6 Research Journal

  Creswell and Poth, Chapter 4: "Five Qualitative Approaches to Inquiry" (Focus on ethnography) Ethnography (as defined by Harris, 1968): a qualitative design in which the researcher describes and interprets the shared and learned patterns of values, behaviors, beliefs, and language of a culture-sharing group Participant observation: researcher immerses him/herself into the everyday lives of the participants Ethnography is both the study and the final product; it takes its origins from anthropology Defining characteristics: focus on complex, complete description of the culture of a group pinpoints patterns to understand social organization and ideational systems draws on theory (i.e. Marxism, acculturation, innovation) to focus their observations combines extensive fieldwork with interviews, observations, symbols, artifacts, and other data analyzes data by synthesizing emic (insider) perspectives (quoted verbatim) through the etic (outsider) perspective to create a picture wh...
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Week 5 Research Journal

Creswell: Chapter 12 "Survey Designs" (focus on instrument design and ethics) Before creating your own survey instruments, you should check for what is available. You may be able to find something that will work "as is" or something that can be modified to fit your needs.  Steps for designing data collection instruments: 1.     Write different types of questions 2.     Use strategies for good question construction 3.     Perform a pilot test of the questions Types of questions: background/demographic questions, attitude/opinion questions, and behavior questions Sensitive questions deal with topics that must be treated with great tact; only use these types of questions when necessary for your study Closed-ended Questions : allow for easy comparison, but not very deep answers; these can be beneficial when creating sensitive questions because the close-ended nature gives respondents comfort from knowing the answer parameters Open-ended Questions : yield i...
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Week 4 Research Journal

  Berger, "Now I see it, now I don't: researcher's position and reflexivity in qualitative research" Focusing on reflexivity This study seeks to understand if reflexivity in qualitative research is affected by whether or not the researcher is part of the research group, sharing their experiences. To me, this just seems like it would be an obvious answer. If you are part of a specific group, you will have a deeper understanding of how things work within that group and will be able to make more meaning from the responses of participants.  "the colonization of knowledge": the systematic subordination and exclusion of non-Western, indigenous, and local knowledge systems by Eurocentric, scientific, and colonial frameworks Disciplines that incorporate the self as part of the study: autobiography, autoethnography, narrative co-construction, and reflexive ethnography "Reflexivity": the process of a continual internal dialogue and critical self-evaluation o...
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Week 3 Research Journal

Creswell and Poth, Chapter 6: Introducing and Focusing the Study It really makes sense that the beginning of the study is the most important. All of the items mentioned--purpose, research questions, research problem--set the trajectory for the entire study to follow. I also like the early emphasis on making all of the parts of the study flow together. There is a HUGE difference between a well-written study and one that does not naturally move from one section to another.  The purpose statement is THE most important part of the research project, according to Creswell and Poth; it lets us know what the author wants to accomplish with the study. Interrelating the Study Problem, Purpose, and Questions Within Research Identify a problem & create research problem statement (focused on study purpose) Create research purpose statement ("study aim") Draft specific research questions   The Research Problem Statement  "The intent of a research problem in qualitative research ...
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