Design a Qualitative Study (6-10 pages)

Data Collection Strategy

Qualitative research designs

The qualitative research designs are methods which are applied to conduct an organized controlled investigation in order to construct a holistic, mainly narrative, explanation that informs the social or cultural phenomenon understanding of a researcher. The qualitative research is a major inductive procedure of arranging information into groupings and recognizing trends among groups. This research design is categorized in numerous types and is worked out under an arrangement of interviews, document reviews and observations. The detailed information is collected through questions that are open-ended which offer straight citations. The selected qualitative research designs in this paper are the phenomenology and case study.

Phenomenology research design simply implies researching about events, experiences, situations or certain concepts. It is a method of explaining something in existence as an essential part of the world in which we live. people are surrounded by numerous phenomena which they are aware of but fail to fully understand them. A phenomenological research may explore the effect of a certain event and describe the causes of that occurrence. It is crucial to understand that phenomenological research contributed in raising awareness and increasing the insight about an event and provides definitive explanations.

Case studies are used to analyze different subjects from projects, to institutions, to systems, to people as well as events and decisions. They can be done in life sciences and social sciences. These research designs may be explanatory or descriptive. Case studies are used to describe a body which forms a single entity. They are used to explore the cause of certain occurrences so as to find the underlying principles. Case studies assert to propose affluence and deepness of data which is not frequently presented by other techniques. This research design may apply any method of data collection from interviewing to testing. Case studies are recently used widely in the field of health care centers (Mason, 2017). Case study research is applied in examining the current real-life circumstances and utilizing these results of the case to the issue that is being studied. This method allows researchers to understand a complex situation and put in strength to what is already known through prior study.

Data collection plan of the qualitative research designs

Case study research basically includes numerous data collection methods and data are gathered from various sources. Most of the data collection methods which are commonly used in case study research design include direct and participant observation, interviews, questionnaires as well as relevant documents. The use of multiple data gathering techniques and sources reinforces the reliability of the results and allows diverse understandings and implication to be incorporated in data analysis. The data collection plan starts when the researcher identifies the issue that ought to be studied and determines the target population who will participate in the study. The next step involves selecting the issue which will be studied and setting the objectives and goals of the study.

Further, one has to narrow down the number of sample groups who will participate in the study as well as identify the best sampling method to be used. Ina situation where the interviewing data collection method is selected as the technique to be used, the chain sampling technique could be applicable in referring the interviewer to the probable participants (Levitt.et.al, 2017). The interviewer should determine the number of sample members who will be sufficient in representing the population. Further, the researcher ought to set up the most applicable questions which will provide the needed data when the participants answer them and then test them prior to utilizing them. Now, the last step involves the actual process of recording the data that the sample members provide and storing it in places where it can be easily retrieved for analysis.

Phenomenological research designs help in describing the everyday world as we immediately experience it and therefore the participant observation method of data collection can be used to help the research obtain the qualitative data that is needed from the researcher. The researcher is required to first identify the phenomena which will be studied and then narrow down the event to ensure that there is a focused occurrence. The second step involves identifying the sample group which will be used to represent the population and then the identification of the sampling technique which will be utilized. Using the participant observation method the research may use purposive sampling so as to consult those participants that are close to him or her. In this technique, the participants will be required to list down the observations which they have made in a given event.

The research ought to have a list of questions that covers the anticipated outcome of observation from the phenomenon. The participants should be required to provide the data through listing their observations or recording themselves stating the occurrences which they saw happening. The researcher might decide to use follow-up interviews so as to confirm the details which have been given by the participants (Da Silva, 2017). This will help the research observe things like the facial expression of the participants, their tones as well as other aspects which offer more information when one is narrating an occurrence. The provided information should be kept in secure storage areas which ensure that the details provided by the researcher are not altered or lost. The narrative participant observation method of data collection is an important method of data collection which ensures that the research gets information from individuals who acquired it first-hand as well as data that is given as per the perceptions of the participants.

It is crucial to note that the qualitative methods of collecting data should be open-ended and structured so as to make sure that the participants can provide as much information as they can. This ensures that the researcher receives more data that allows them to fully cover the subject topic and other underlying principles (Stratford & Bradshaw, 2016). The research can ensure data saturation through reviewing the transcripts which have been submitted by the respondents and conducting follow up interviews which ensure that the accuracy of the provided data is confirmed.

In conclusion, qualitative research design is very helpful in understanding the cause and effects of certain occurrences in the world that we live in. Some of the discussed qualitative research designs include case study and the phenomenological design. Most researchers apply the participant observation method of data collection when gathering data that is used in phenomenological research while the interviewing technique is applied for the case study research designs. It is important to ensure data saturation through conducting follow up reviews and reviewing the provided transcripts.

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