Respond to Discussion Question 1a

Respond to at least one post and explain how you might see constructing phenomena differently and why. Use proper APA format and citations to support your response.

While considering the statement, “Qualitative researchers study people in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them” (Walden, 2017), it becomes important to recognize that qualitative research evolved into a vibrant, multifaceted, and complex range of approaches and methodologies not easily defined (Ravitch, 2016).  However, this statement does allude to the important role people play in the qualitative analysis process.  For example, the components of qualitative research involves fieldwork and naturalistic engagement, which means the researcher is physically present with people in order to engage, observe, and record experiences and behaviors within a natural setting (Ravitch, 2016).  Another component of qualitative research involves fidelity to participants, which refers to showing a specific loyalty to participants and their experiences, rather than a strict adherence to methods and research design (Ravitch, 2016).  Meaning and meaning making involves deep investment in understanding how people make sense of their lives and experiences (Ravitch, 2016).  

Qualitative research involves interpretive paradigms such as ontology, epistemology, and methodology, all of which shape how the qualitative researcher sees the world and acts in it (Denzin & Lincoln, 2013).  Ontology brings focus to the question, what kind of being is the human being, or what is the nature or reality?  Epistemology focuses on what the relationship is between the inquirer and the known.  Methodology is how we either know the world, or gain knowledge of it (Denzin & Lincoln, 2013).  All three of these paradigms play important roles in productive qualitative research processes.  It also highlights the reality that all research is interpretive since it is founded within the constructs of the researcher’s set of beliefs and feelings about the world and how it should be studied (Denzin & Lincoln, 2013).  

Researching and reporting what people do in their everyday lives and what their actions mean to them is the basis for qualitative research, or qualitative inquiry (Erickson, 2011).  Its origins trace back to ancient times when Herodotus, a Greek scholar in the 5th Century B.C.E. articulated interests that were both cross-cultural and historical (Erickson, 2011).  Similarly, Sextus Empiricus conducted cross-cultural surveys involving morality, in which he demonstrated that what was considered right, or moral, in one society, was not necessarily the case for other societies (Erickson, 2011).  

The complexities of qualitative inquiry involve an interpretive analysis of a person’s individualized perspective based on his or her socialization process.  

References:

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). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/17670_Chapter1.pdf

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). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2016). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Walden (2017).  Discussion 1: Qualitative Research: Making it Real.  Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/USW1/201830_27/XX_RSCH/RSCH_8310/USW1_RSCH_8310_week01.html?course_uid=USW1.KT.201830&service_url=https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/bbgs-deep-links-BBLEARN/app/wslinks&b2Uri=https%3A%2F%2Fclass.waldenu.edu%2Fwebapps%2Fbbgs-deep-links-BBLEARN#discussion1