Qualitative Dissertation Chapter Guides - Capella University

Qualitative Dissertation Chapter Guide

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Contents

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Contents

CONTENTS..................................................................................................................................................................... 1

INTRODUCTION TO THIS DOCUMENT .............................................................................................................. 3

DISCLAIMERS ........................................................................................................................................................................3 PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT ..........................................................................................................................................3 TURNITIN ............................................................................................................................................................................... 3 RESOURCES ........................................................................................................................................................................... 4 TURNITIN RESOURCES.........................................................................................................................................................4 CAPELLA RESOURCES ..........................................................................................................................................................4

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................6

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY ...........................................................................................................................................6 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM/NEED FOR THE STUDY.................................................................................................7 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY.......................................................................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY............................................................................................................................................8 RESEARCH QUESTION .........................................................................................................................................................9 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS......................................................................................................................................................9 RESEARCH DESIGN ..............................................................................................................................................................9 ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS .................................................................................................................................. 10

Assumptions ................................................................................................................................................................. 10 General Methodological Assumptions.................................................................................................................... 10 Theoretical assumptions............................................................................................................................................ 11 Topic-specific assumptions ....................................................................................................................................... 11 Limitations .................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Design flaw limitations............................................................................................................................................... 12 Delimitations (intentional areas not investigated). ............................................................................................. 12 ORGANIZATION OF THE REMAINDER OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................ 12

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................................... 13

METHODS OF SEARCHING............................................................................................................................................... 13 THEORETICAL ORIENTATION FOR THE STUDY............................................................................................................. 13 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE........................................................................................................................................... 14 SYNTHESIS OF THE RESEARCH FINDINGS...................................................................................................................... 15 CRITIQUE OF THE PREVIOUS RESEARCH METHODS ................................................................................................... 15 SUMMARY........................................................................................................................................................................... 16

CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................. 16

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY.................................................................................................................................................. 17 RESEARCH QUESTION ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 RESEARCH DESIGN ........................................................................................................................................................... 18

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TARGET POPULATION AND SAMPLE .............................................................................................................................. 18 Population..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Sample............................................................................................................................................................................ 19

PROCEDURES ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Participant Selection .................................................................................................................................................. 20 Protection of Participants.......................................................................................................................................... 21 Expert Review............................................................................................................................................................... 21 Data Collection ............................................................................................................................................................ 21 Data Analysis......................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

INSTRUMENTS.................................................................................................................................................................... 21 General Structure of "Instruments" Section .......................................................................................................... 21 The Role of the Researcher ........................................................................................................................................ 22 Guiding Interview Questions .................................................................................................................................... 22

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................................................................ 22 SUMMARY........................................................................................................................................................................... 23

CHAPTER 4. RESULTS ............................................................................................................................................. 23

INTRODUCTION: THE STUDY AND THE RESEARCHER................................................................................................. 23 DESCRIPTION OF THE SAMPLE........................................................................................................................................ 24 PROTECTION OF PARTICIPANTS .........................................................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY APPLIED TO THE DATA ANALYSIS ................................................................................ 25 PRESENTATION OF DATA AND RESULTS OF THE ANALYSIS ....................................................................................... 25 SUMMARY........................................................................................................................................................................... 27 DESCRIPTION OF QUALITATIVE APPROACHES ............................................................................................................ 28

ETHNOGRAPHY.......................................................................................................................................................... 28 GROUNDED THEORY ............................................................................................................................................... 30 PHENOMENOLOGY .................................................................................................................................................. 33 HEURISTIC.................................................................................................................................................................... 37 GENERIC QUALITATIVE RESEARCH..................................................................................................................... 40 CASE STUDY ................................................................................................................................................................ 43

CHAPTER 5. DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................... 46

SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS ............................................................................................................................................ 47 DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS ........................................................................................................................................ 47 CONCLUSIONS BASED ON THE RESULTS ...................................................................................................................... 49 LIMITATIONS...................................................................................................................................................................... 48 IMPLICATIONS OF STUDY......................................................................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH..............................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

Recommendations derived from methodological, research design, or other limitations of the study. .................................................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Recommendations based on delimitations..................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................................................... 50

REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................................................. 50

APPENDIX A: RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................. 52

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APPENDIX B: POPULATIONS AND SAMPLES................................................................................................ 52

INTRODUCTION TO THIS DOCUMENT

Disclaimers

Neither this guide nor any of the information and requirements contained herein constitute a contract or create any contractual commitments between Capella University and any student, any prospective student, or any third party. The information and program requirements contained in the Dissertation Manual are subject to change.

This Chapter Guide describes qualitative research approaches that may not be approved for all schools. Read your school's "Acceptable Methods" document on Campus to determine which approaches can be used in your school.

Purpose of this Document

This document presents detailed information about each of the Chapters required for a Capella dissertation. Sections within each Chapter are also described. Each section in this document aligns with the Dissertation Template for Qualitative Studies. Carefully read the Chapter Guides so that you can be certain to provide the material that is necessary to write each section of your dissertation successfully.

The Dissertation Template provides all the necessary headings and sections required for your dissertation. It is recommended that you use it for all work. Some sections in this guide are not listed in the template. It is necessary to ensure that all content is in the final document, so include these items in the most appropriate section.

Consult with your mentor about adding headings that might be necessary to enhance the organizational structure of your dissertation.

*Note: You are reporting a study that has already been conducted. Therefore, you need to write using past tense verbs. You cannot just copy from the research plan without changing the verb tense.

Turnitin To ensure the originality of your work and the use of appropriate citations, you should submit your dissertation work through Turnitin. Turnitin is a free source-matching tool provided to Capella learners. Turnitin analyzes your examination responses for unintentional plagiarism and improper source referencing. Be sure to allow 24 hours for a response from Turnitin and allow time for editing. If you have questions about using Turnitin, review Capella's Turnitin tutorials.

You will find several job aids and tutorials. It is especially critical to understand how to interpret your originality report and how to revise plagiarized or matching text. The following resources provide information on interpreting your report and revising it:

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