Question

Research Methods & Designs: Write a 5-page (3 pages of content) description of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research methodologies including: • the characteristics of each research method, • when the use of each research method is most appropriate, • and similarities and differences in the research methods. Describe the research method and research design that best fits your major area of study including: • the reasons for selecting the research method, • the reasons for selecting the research design, • and why it is the best fit for research conducted in your major area of study.

Answer 1

Researchers have many ways of examining and relating their study. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed measures are all differentiated by the question, 'How is the researcher explaining his or her findings? If the researcher uses numbers, they are using a quantitative measure. If they use a descriptive style, it is a qualitative measure and if they are somewhere in between, it is a mixed method.

Quantitative Research:

Quantitative research uses numbers to test hypotheses and make predictions by using measured amounts and ultimately describe an event by using figures. By using numbers, the researcher has the opportunity to use advanced and powerful statistical tests to ensure that the results have a statistical relationship and are not just a fluke observation.

When using quantitative research, the researcher must define what they are measuring. The idea here is to look at a specific attribute or variable. This is referred to as an operational definition. By operationalizing what you are looking for, you are only measuring a particular and relevant thing, which restricts your view to what is relevant. For example, if you are only looking at acts of aggression by physically touching someone, you don't count when someone yells at another person.

A strength of quantitative methods is that, by examining numbers, a certain level of bias is removed. It is hard to argue that one kicking a ball, for instance, is not kicking a ball. When a researcher studies a specific variable that is operationally defined, then the results can be applied to larger populations, making the findings generalizable.

Here's an example: You have been called upon to conduct research on elementary school violence. You go through the process of selecting the school and decide that you will observe the youngsters while at recess. Prior to your observations, you decide you will operationally define violence as one child pushing, shoving, or striking another child during recess. You monitor them for a week and find 50 acts of violence, with an average of 10 a day and a standard deviation of two.

By using quantitative research, you have been able to determine how frequent violent acts occur on a school ground. This can then be generalized to other schools in the area under similar conditions or act as a comparison to other schools in different areas.

Qualitative Research:

Qualitative research describes the kind and quality of a subject while interpreting and attempting to understand an event. By using narrative descriptions, the purpose of qualitative research is to give someone a mental picture of what the researcher is seeing. Due to the nature of qualitative research, it is difficult to use statistical procedures to measure kinds and qualities, and this research typically focuses on a few individuals or just a single person.

Qualitative data includes words, opinions, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The advantage is that you get lots of detail about specific cases, people, or groups. The disadvantages are that you can’t make general statements, and that analysis is time-consuming. Some would argue that the analysis is also very subjective, but this depends on your approach. When reading a piece of qualitative research, look for the level of detail and clarity in the methodology and particularly how they analyzed the data. For example, you will often see ‘thematic analysis’ referred to, but the author should give details about how the themes were identified and on what basis were certain themes kept and others ignored. Also, be alert to what generalizations are made on the basis of very small samples or case studies. A good qualitative research article will have a solid basis in previous research and will compare their results to other studies. It will also include lots of rich detail, usually in the form of quotes or examples, to illustrate their interpretations. So read the results sections carefully, and see whether or not you agree with how they have analyzed the data. Which one you should use typically depends on your research questions and topics, as well as your purpose. If your purpose is to explain, measure, and/or prove a link between two different things (e.g. diet and obesity), quantitative data would probably be more appropriate.

Mixed methods:

Mixed methods mean that you collect both quantitative and qualitative data and analyze both together to answer your question. For instance, say you wanted to know whether parents’ feelings about reading with their children affected children’s reading scores. You could interview parents, sort them into groups (e.g. confident, mixed feelings, and anxious) and compare the test scores of children whose parents fall into different groups. That would be a good mixed methods design because you are using the qualitative data to inform the analysis of the quantitative data (known as multistage research design). Alternatively, you can ‘triangulate’, or collect different types of data to check your findings or illustrate your interpretations. For instance, you could compare the reading test scores of children, and also interview them and their parents to find out how they feel about reading. This would let you ask parents directly about how they think their confidence affects their children’s reading, and see whether this matches your statistical analysis. However, not all topics require mixed methods, and it is not always better to use mixed methods. For instance, say you want to know whether a company’s profits are affected by employee absences or not. Since you can count both variables, there is no need for additional qualitative data. Similarly, say you want to know how introverts think of themselves. Would you learn anything relevant by counting the frequency of introverts in a particular social group? Probably not. Occasionally, you will read journal articles that use two different sets of data that never really relate together. If this happens, you can point out in a literature review or critical evaluation that it was perhaps a weak use of a mixed-methods design.

Characteristics Of Research Methods :

Quantitative Research:

Its main characteristics are:

• The data is usually gathered using structured research instruments.
• The results are based on larger sample sizes that are representative of the population.
• The research study can usually be replicated or repeated, given its high reliability.
• The researcher has a clearly defined research question to which objective answers are sought.
• All aspects of the study are carefully designed before data is collected.
• Data are in the form of numbers and statistics, often arranged in tables, charts, figures, or other non-textual forms.
• The project can be used to generalize concepts more widely, predict future results, or investigate causal relationships.
• The researcher uses tools, such as questionnaires or computer software, to collect numerical data.

Qualitative Research:

The following are some basic features of the qualitative methods research:

The Design:

• Naturalistic -- refers to studying real-world situations as they unfold naturally; nonmanipulative and noncontrolling; the researcher is open to whatever emerges [i.e., there is a lack of predetermined constraints on findings].
• Emergent -- acceptance of adapting inquiry as understanding deepens and/or situations change; the researcher avoids rigid designs that eliminate responding to opportunities to pursue new paths of discovery as they emerge.
• Purposeful -- cases for study [e.g., people, organizations, communities, cultures, events, critical incidences] are selected because they are “information rich” and illuminative. That is, they offer useful manifestations of the phenomenon of interest; sampling is aimed at insight about the phenomenon, not empirical generalization derived from a sample and applied to a population.

  The Collection of Data:

• Data -- observations yield a detailed, "thick description" [in-depth understanding]; interviews capture direct quotations about people’s personal perspectives and lived experiences; often derived from carefully conducted case studies and review of material culture.
• Personal experience and engagement -- researcher has direct contact with and gets close to the people, situation, and phenomenon under investigation; the researcher’s personal experiences and insights are an important part of the inquiry and critical to understanding the phenomenon.
• Empathic neutrality -- an empathic stance in working with study respondents seeks vicarious understanding without judgment [neutrality] by showing openness, sensitivity, respect, awareness, and responsiveness; in observation, it means being fully present [mindfulness].
• Dynamic systems -- there is attention to process; assumes change is ongoing, whether the focus is on an individual, an organization, a community, or an entire culture, therefore, the researcher is mindful of and attentive to system and situation national dynamics.

The Analysis:

• Unique case orientation -- assumes that each case is special and unique; the first level of analysis is being true to, respecting, and capturing the details of the individual cases being studied; cross-case analysis follows from and depends upon the quality of individual case studies.
• Inductive analysis -- immersion in the details and specifics of the data to discover important patterns, themes, and inter-relationships; begins by exploring, then confirming findings, guided by analytical principles rather than rules.
• Holistic perspective -- the whole phenomenon under study is understood as a complex system that is more than the sum of its parts; the focus is on complex interdependencies and system dynamics that cannot be reduced in any meaningful way to linear, cause and effect relationships and/or a few discrete variables.
• Context-sensitive -- places findings in a social, historical, and temporal context; the researcher is careful about [even dubious of] the possibility or meaningfulness of generalizations across time and space; emphasizes careful comparative case analyses and extrapolating patterns for possible transferability and adaptation in new settings.
• Voice, perspective, and reflexivity -- the qualitative methodologist owns and is reflective about her or his own voice and perspective; a credible voice conveys authenticity and trustworthiness; complete objectivity being impossible and pure subjectivity undermining credibility, the researcher's focus reflects a balance between understanding and depicting the world authentically in all its complexity and of being self-analytical, politically aware, and reflexive in consciousness.

Mixed Research:

The following are some basic features of the mixed methods research:

1. The analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data.
2. The collection of both open and closed-ended data (qualitative and quantitative data) in response to the research question.
3. Persuasive and rigorous procedures for qualitative and quantitative methods.
4. The integration of these two data sources (by merging, connecting, embedding).
5. The use of specific mixed methods design involves a concurrent or sequential integration.
6. An approach to research that has a philosophical foundation.

Depending upon your major area of study please select the research design on basis of the above features and add the reasons for the same and why did you choose it.

Thanks