Proposal section 2

Note: As you consider your references, it is recommended that in business 85% should be within the past 3 years. Other than data collected from the study site, students cannot use magazines, trade publications, summary textbooks, websites, and blogs as references.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

2.1 - Purpose Statement

Simply cut-and-paste the Purpose Statement from Section 1.

2.2 - Role of the Researcher

The Role of the Researcher is an important part of your proposal and study. The content that you present in this subheading is important because it demonstrates that a) you have done the research that is required, b) that you understand what your role is in the study design, and 3) you understand the limitations and challenges in this type of role, and how any concerns may be mitigated to enhance the reliability and validity of your work.

One of the most challenging parts to write in this subheading is about the use of a personal lens primarily because novice researchers (like students) assume that they have no bias in their data collection. However, it is important to remember that a participant’s as well as the researcher’s bias/worldview is present in all social research, both intentionally and unintentionally which is why it is important to address strategies to mitigate bias.

To address the concept of a personal lens, remember that in qualitative research, the researcher is the data collection instrument and cannot separate themselves from the research, which brings up special concerns. Remember that the researcher operates among multiple worlds while engaging in research, which include the cultural world of the study participants as well as the world of one’s own perspective. A researcher's cultural and experiential background will contain biases, values, and ideologies that can affect the interpretation of a study’s findings.

Therefore, researcher bias is a concern because the data can reflect the researcher’s personal bias and concerns. It becomes imperative that the interpretation of the phenomena represent that of participants and not of the researcher. Hearing and understanding the perspective of others may be one of the most difficult dilemmas the researcher must address. The better a researcher is able to recognize his/her personal view of the world and to discern the presence of a personal lens, the better one is able to hear and interpret the behavior and reflections of others.

How you address and mitigate a personal lens/worldview during your data collection and analysis is important and a key component in the Role of the Researcher subheading. It is important that a novice researcher recognizes their own personal role in the study and mitigates any concerns during data collection. Part of your discussion in this subheading should address how this is demonstrated through using an interview protocol, member checking, transcript validation and review, reaching data saturation, enabling sense making, facilitating epoché, careful construction of interview questions, and other strategies to mitigate the use of one’s personal lens during the data collection process of the study.

It would be impossible to remove all bias because you are a human being. Rather, one mitigates bias as best as one can. This is demonstrated via using an interview protocol, member checking, data saturation, and other strategies to mitigate the use of one personal lens during the data collection process of your study. Inadvertently driving participants to predetermined conclusions speaks to the same concepts.

2.3 - Participants

The requirements are straight forward but often missed in the Participants heading.

Consider the explanations in the following table.

2.4 - Research Method

This heading is an extension of the Nature of the Study. The first paragraph of the Nature of the Study required a description of and justified the methodology. Here you will extend that discussion by providing more information and additional resources. Remember to use multiple sources to support claims and decisions. It is important to have a strong case to support the rationale for research method and design.

2.5 - Research Design

This section is an extension of the Nature of the Study. The second paragraph of the Nature of the Study required a description of and justified the design. Here you will extend that description by providing more information and additional resources. Remember to use multiple sources to support claims and decisions.

A vital prerequisite for a valid qualitative study is having a plan to ensure data saturation.

Data saturation in qualitative research ensures the validity in a qualitative study similar to a statistically valid sample in a quantitative study. See more on data saturation in the Population and Sampling heading below.

Specifically stating multiple sources is one way to make it clear to the reviewers that you have mapped to the Rubric. However, what the reviewers are looking for is that students have done the required reading to justify the choice of research design that will best assist collecting data to answer the research question. Rather than list name-date, name-date, name-date repeatedly, one would synthesize the concepts into one cohesive whole supported by sources in a somewhat indirect manner. For example:

Case studies are the preferred strategy researchers employ when asking how or what questions (Amerson, 2011; Andrade, 2009; Yin, 2009). These types of studies identify operational links among events over time (Andrade, 2009; Baxter & Jack, 2008; Yin, 2009). Case studies may be exploratory, explanatory, or descriptive and may involve one organization and location or multiple organizations and locations for a comparative case study (Amerson, 2011; Stake, 1995; Yin, 2009).

In other words, you are supporting your synthesis with multiple sources. Another way to support your design with a source is:

Ethnographic study is unique in that it includes fieldwork where all relevant participants are observed and interviewed informally rather than a specified number as in phenomenology (Fusch, 2001; Wolcott, 2011). Bernard (2012) stated that the number of participants needed for a qualitative study was a number he could not quantify, but that the researcher takes what he can get it.

In other words, you support your synthesis in a more direct way. Note that Bernard's entire work is not within the text, but, rather, one important statement that he did make is and it supports the chosen research design.

In both examples, the synthesis demonstrated depth of knowledge that is supported by published peer-reviewed work, which is what reviewers want to see in your work. Moreover, it is a demonstration of your scholarly research abilities. Note, you may use the same source to support more than one decision if applicable.