Research Proposal

Qualitative Study Critique: Veterans’ Experiences of Maintaining Employment

Natoya Wayne

The University of Arizona Global Campus

PSY635: Research Design and Methods

Dr. Kristopher Bradley

August 31, 2021

Introduction

The article titled, “I’ve never been able to stay in a job”: A qualitative study of Veterans’ experiences of maintaining employment,” by Molly Harrod, focuses on the employment needs of Veterans, whether these are being met or not. The paper focuses on the ability of Veterans to retain employment positions for a long time. It is a detailed exploratory qualitative study that has been conducted through semi-structured interviews of ten Veterans. Inductive thematic analysis is performed to analyze and generalize information from all the interviews (Harroda, Millerb, Henrya, & Zivin, 2017). The focus of the paper is to understand the employment experience of Veterans because of mental health disorders and other mental ailments and stereotypes associated with them. Additionally, an exploratory qualitative study is used to understand better and interpret experiences.

Qualitative Article Study Critique

Veterans are less likely to be able to manage long-term employment positions because of their military background. Using the purposive sampling approach enabled researchers to approach a detailed exploration and understanding of the central themes and come up with productive assumptions regarding Veterans' long-term employment positions and experiences. Participants of this research were ten Veterans aged eighteen and fifty-five. The intervening criteria was used for the sampling order data collection method include the survey of patients who experienced a recent primary care visit. Researchers contacted research respondents through phone and offered them a phone interview. It was informed consent research, and the consent of patients had been collected through emails. There were thirty-two eligible participants at the start, and ten agreed to participate in interviews. All ten participants have received a $25 gift card from researchers to compensate in appreciation for their participation.

Data collection methods of the research are semi-structured interviews primarily focusing on reintegration and employment problems. Interviews comprised open-ended questions, and Veterans were allowed to describe their employment experiences as much as possible. Interviews were audio-recorded, and each interview conducted individually took approximately 48 minutes. Principal investigators evaluated each interviewee individually, brier two folding who generalize data sets and ensure that interviews provide accurate and reliable answers to each question. The focus of the qualitative study was on employment experiences. All ten Veterans have been asked about their military history and employment experiences since they were discharged from military positions. All ten of the participants were Gulf War-era Veterans. When the researcher asked about the mental health disorders they have ever experienced, five out of ten participants revealed that they had a post-traumatic stress disorder and were diagnosed with depression and anxiety during and after military job positions. All the five participants do not share their feelings completely during a post-traumatic stress disorder because of the severity and uncertainty of those experiences. Another main point of the study interviewed was the types of employment participants had engaged in and their experiences. Participants revealed that they struggled a lot for employment after being discharged from military positions and found working positions in organizations where wages and additional benefits were too low. They were forced to work under unsafe conditions because they had no alternative options to move from one job to the other. Only one out of ten participants revealed that he found a factory that provided a stable and predictable environment to work. They also revealed that one of the major reasons that limit their employment opportunities and were not recommended to work longer with an organization was their mental health conditions and the perception of employers that Veterans cannot work with concentration. The research reveals that despite numerous programs that aim to ensure that trends to re-enter and retain their employment positions for a long time, failed to do so.

The qualitative research also reveals that one of the most important or highlighted problems Veterans faced when they entered the job market are their skills. Employers focus on the skills of Veterans and find a match in civilian job requirements. According to employers, Veterans would be able to enter a civilian workforce only when they have the competitive skills necessary to manage situations and assess success in different fields. The research study indicates that it is difficult to find an exact match of skills among Veterans in the civilian job market; thus, it is recommended that employment service programs should introduce a counseling program for Veterans to develop a relationship with the workplace to assist and enable Veterans to enter the civilian workplace. Researchers focus on identifying problems faced by Veterans in the employment market and problems they faced before in retaining their long-term employment positions. Experiences of ten Veterans or participants of the research help researchers to recommend training and counseling for them. In-depth examination of the research reveals that all of those were not the same because some participants had skills, but they were not being utilized appropriately. Because of their background and association with the military forces, they were not preferred in several jobs. Two research participants reveal that after several attempts in many jobs, they felt they lacked the knowledge and skills to compete. Thus, they returned to school to obtain required employment positions and equivalent experiences to enter the civilian job market. Both participants reveal that they wondered if they would be the best suited to the work environment and would be able to gain respectable work positions. They further revealed that reactions from coworkers who treated them like they are some different and foreign species of humans also impact their engagement in the workplace and their long-term retention with one workplace.

Conclusion

The research was conducted neutrally without showing any bias or discrimination towards any participant. All the participants were selected without any difference or discrimination and have been interviewed equally, taking an average time of 48 minutes. Researchers addressed everything adequately without integrating any confusion or complicated concepts. It was easy to evaluate and understand the focus of the research and recommendations for Veterans to enter the civilian job market. The researchers did not break ethical principles in the research study because they were not disclosing any personal information from the research participants but generally discussed their research focus and responses from participants. They kept privacy concerns of the participants, and did not compromise on sharing names or any further details such as mental health histories experienced by patients, their in-depth associations with the job market, etc. The research was based on the findings of interviews, and an exploratory study that recommends programs for Veterans to ensure their long-term employment in different job markets.

Reference

Harrod, M., Miller, E. M., Henry, J., & Zivin, K. (2017). “I’ve never been able to stay in a job”:

A qualitative study of Veterans’ experiences of maintaining employment. Work, 57(2), 259–268.