University of Phoenix



University of Phoenix Material

First Messages

Week 1 First Messages

• According to Hesse-Biber and Leavy (2011), “the researcher’s ontological and epistemological positions form the philosophical basis of a research project” (p. 4). What are your ontological and epistemological positions? How do they relate to your own research?

• What are three advantages of conducting qualitative research? What are three disadvantages of qualitative research? Why are these considered advantages and disadvantages?

• In what types of situations would a qualitative research design be appropriate? In what situation would it not be appropriate? What factors would you consider when deciding if a qualitative method is appropriate for your study?

• What are the key characteristics of qualitative research? How do the characteristics differ from quantitative research?

• Why do you think that, historically, “pure scientists” have viewed qualitative research as inferior to quantitative research? What is your position on this opinion? Why?

Week 2 First Messages

• What are the similarities and differences between case studies and phenomenological research? What types of questions are appropriate for each design?

• What differentiates grounded theory research from other forms of qualitative research?

• What is content analysis? When is content analysis appropriate in qualitative research?

• How does the concept of philosophical assumptions relate to qualitative research? Use examples to support your answer.

Week 3 First Messages

• Describe the components of a phenomenological study. What are the procedures and challenges the researcher faces when conducting a phenomenological study? How might you work to overcome those challenges?

• Describe the components of a case study. What are the procedures and challenges the researcher faces when conducting a case study? How might you work to overcome those challenges?

• Imagine that a researcher has decided to conduct research regarding the 2010 murder of a student at Northern Illinois University. The researcher is trying to explore this murder’s effect on the students, faculty, and parents in light of the fact that this campus was also the site of a shooting spree in 2008.

How might the researcher conduct his or her research? What type of design would be most appropriate? Why?

• What is the relationship between the problem statement and the research design chosen? How does that relationship help to ultimately frame a study’s research questions?

Week 4 First Messages

• Imagine that a researcher has decided to conduct research regarding the 2010 murder of a student at Northern Illinois University. The researcher is trying to explore this murder’s effect on the students, faculty, and parents in light of the fact that this campus was also the site of a shooting spree in 2008.

Building on your answer to this scenario in Week Three, what steps would the researcher implement to carry out your expressed research design? Justify each step.

• Discuss at least three different data-collection methods used in qualitative research. When would they be appropriate? What are the limitations inherent in those methods?

• What are the similarities and differences in data collection when doing grounded theory, case study, or a phenomenological study?

Week 5 First Messages

• Discuss the difference between the research questions that address a problem being explored and the questions that might be used in an interview. How are they similar? How are they different?

• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using focus groups. What are some limitations of using focus groups?

• What ethical considerations would a researcher need to consider when collecting qualitative data? Why?

• How do research questions in a qualitative study differ from those used in a quantitative study? Why are they different?

• Discuss the use of archival data in qualitative studies. When might their use be appropriate?

Week 6 First Messages

• Discuss the issue of sample size in qualitative research. How might a qualitative researcher determine an appropriate sample size? What influence does sample size have on transferability?

• How might the researcher affect the results of face-to-face interviews? What can be done to mitigate issues that might arise from these problems?

• What are some ways a researcher might mitigate the effects of ethical issues such as researcher bias, confidentiality, and influence of the data collection process on the sample in a qualitative research?

• Discuss some ethical considerations that are inherent when doing qualitative research. How might these considerations be addressed?

Week 7 First Messages

• Post your research protocol from Week Four to the Main forum. Choose at least two of your classmates’ protocols and offer a critique of the research methodology. Was anything missing?

• Discuss the concept of researcher bias. What are some ways the researcher might address these issues?

• What is triangulation? Provide some examples of how triangulation can be used to validate research findings.

• How might a researcher who is a participant observer conducting qualitative research affect the results of the research? What can be done to mitigate these issues?

Week 8 First Messages

• What are some qualitative methods of data collection that might be appropriate for your own research? Provide reasons for your choices.

• What are some limitations of your proposed study? How can these be addressed?

• What important ethical considerations might affect your research? Discuss methods for minimizing these considerations.

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