RES 7440 Assignment week 2
Running head: RES 7440 1
RES 7440: WEEK 2 2
Phenomenology in Research
Bradford Nelms
October, 22 2018
Introduction
The qualitative research methodology that I am basing my assignment this week is Phenomenological research. Therefore, I set out to find a dissertation that uses a phenomenological research. The dissertation was designed to investigate the experiences of elementary principals undertaking dual career relationships with children below the age of 18 years. The study participants were eight. From the outset it is clear to see that this was a phenomenological study because the study was designed to investigate the experiences of eight participants against one phenomenon. Phenomenological research came in handy in this research because phenomenology is concerned with understanding how people experience a given phenomenon. As a qualitative study, the study was not designed to make any predictions about the future but rather an in-depth analysis of a given phenomenon during a given time (Zeeck, 2012). Owing to the nature of the demanding schedules often faced by principals, it becomes important to understand their lived experiences. The author notes that only a qualitative study design could achieve that.
Procedures Specific to the Design
Some of the procedures specific to the design are data collection. Phenomenological research design also captures deep meaning, as well as rich descriptions from the participants. The researcher used personal memos-to-self, as well as in-depth interviews to gather the desired information about lived experiences of the eight principals (Zeeck, 2012). The researcher also used grand-tour questions, floating prompts, and nondirective questions. However, the true experiences of the principals lay in their narrations. The nondirective questions were important because they were designed to allow participants to share their unique experiences under their own terms. This is the hallmark of qualitative research because it seeks to understand lived experiences of different participant against a single phenomenon (Creswell, Hanson, Clark Plano, and Morales, 2007).
Design and Research Questions
The phenomenological design being a qualitative research methodology aims at formulating research questions that draw rich experiences of the participants and deep meaning (Creswell, Hanson, Clark Plano, and Morales, 2007). In the case at hand, the research questions reflected the design and the goals of the research because they were geared towards understanding the lived experiences of the principals.
Design and Purpose of Research
On the same note, the design addresses the problem and the purpose of the study in that it allows the researcher to gather data on different experiences of the eight principals in dual career relationships and how it affects their children (Zeeck, 2012). The research questions were specifically designed to determine the ultimate experiences and to give propositions about the experiences of principals living in dual-career families and how it affects their children (Zeeck, 2012).
Why the Design
The design was chosen to explore the topic because it provides the best opportunity for the researcher to learn the truth about the dual career marriages and their impact on people’s lives especially, their impact on school principals and their families. Only a qualitative study can help achieve the research goals because it gathers information from the participants who have lived their lives (Creswell, Hanson, Clark Plano, and Morales, 2007). Because people are unique and situations are unique, it is possible that each participant will have a different experience, which they do according to the researcher. Additionally, qualitative research’s credibility comes from the participants views. In the dissertation in question, the researcher used member check credibility technique which is an invitation of the participant to view their transcripts and evaluate whether they are truthful and add more information if necessary (Zeeck, 2012). As the author postulates, dependability is the consistence of the results with data. Member check technique was also used to enhance dependability of the qualitative research (Cho and Trent, 2006).
Conclusion
The dissertation analyzed here provides a good example of qualitative research and the application of phenomenological study. From the outset, the researchers designed their study in a manner that would allow them to examine the experiences of the eight principals in dual-career relationships and how it affects their family life. The phenomenological study was crucial to identifying the experiences.
References
Cho, J., & Trent, A. (2006). Validity in qualitative research revisited. Qualitative research, 6(3), 319-340.
Creswell, J. W., Hanson, W. E., Clark Plano, V. L., & Morales, A. (2007). Qualitative research designs: Selection and implementation. The counseling psychologist, 35(2), 236-264.
Zeeck, Kirk A., (2012) " A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experiences of Elementary Principals Involved in Dual-Career Relationshipswith Children". Education Doctoral Dissertations in Leadership. 5.