8310 Dis 1 week 1
1
Respond to at least one of your colleagues’ posts in 125 words and explain how you might see constructing phenomena differently and why. Use proper APA format and citations to support your response.
Al Lewis - Initial Post
Top of Form
Week 1 Discussion
Qualitative researchers study people in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them.
Qualitative research is used to explore “meaning-relevant kinds of things in the world” (Erickson, 2011, p. 43). Denzin and Lincoln (2013) stressed the nature of interpreting qualitative research through a complex historical lens spanning many historical periods. Ravitch and Carl (2021) considered this historical evaluation and concluded that the field of qualitative research has evolved into complex ranges of approaches and methodologies. This complex and evolving nature allows current researchers to evaluate prior research in a culturally-critical lens, and also provides an opportunity for positive social change, as described by Isaac (2014). Yob and Brewer (n.d.) defined social change through multiple academic disciplines.
Ravitch and Carl (2021) described the key components of qualitative research; fieldwork and naturalistic engagement, descriptive and analytic qualities, complexity and contextualization, researcher as instrument, process and relationships, fidelity to participants, meaning and meaning making, and inductive. These components relate directly to the statement in question. Studying people in their natural settings requires fieldwork and naturalistic engagement, “the researcher is physically present with the people in a community” (Ravitch & Carl, 2021, p. 9). Likewise, qualitative research seeks to make meaning of the observations of people in their local context and seeks to describe and explore phenomena.
Understanding the evolution of qualitative research is best done through historical perspectives across different time periods and contexts. Erickson (2011) examined the history of qualitative inquiry and resarch both chronologically and thematically. The ancient world featured precursors to qualitaive inquiry, as represented in the works of Herodotus and Sextus Empiricus, which provided the foundation for further work of 19th century researchers such as Comte and Quetelet.
The 19th century also saw the emergence of ethnography, descriptive accounts of the lives of local sets of people around the world. The 20th century saw a golden age of realist ethnography, as evidenced in the works of Mead, Fifrth, and Holmberg. The 20th century saw an emergence of critical ethnography that examined phenomena and naturalistic methodologies through a lens of subordination and social criticism (Erickson, 2011). This has extended into our current time of educational qualitative research that has been conducted through a culturally-responsive lens and through critical-race theory
Sources
Erickson, F. (2011). Chapter 3: A history of qualitative inquiry in social and educational research. In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 43–58). Sage Publications.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y.S. (2013). Chapter 1: Introduction: The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In The landscape of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 1–44). Sage Publications.
Isaac, B. (2014). Benjamin Isaac, EdD student, inspiring children with special needs [Video file].
Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2021). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological (2nd ed.) Sage Publications.
Yob, I., & Brewer, P. (n.d.). Working toward the common good: An online university's perspectives on social change.
Bottom of Form
1 day ago