Introduction
This advanced qualitative methods course is designed to advance your research skills to understand and use the conventions of qualitative research to explore an educational problem at the doctoral level. Educational practitioners are aware of the educational problems that exist within educational environments and practice, yet scholarly researchers address these problems using the accepted conventions of educational research to do so.
In qualitative educational research, the doctoral researcher identifies an educational problem from within the scholarly literature and decides a proper qualitative research design to explore the problem from a descriptive, exploratory, or explanatory approach (Suter, 2012). A specific construct or phenomenon is typically at the center of the exploration and may often involve the lived experiences of human subjects with the construct or phenomenon of focus. Conversely, in quantitative research, numerical data is operationalized as variables; while in qualitative research, phenomena or constructs are measured through qualitative data collection and analyzed through qualitative data analysis.
In qualitative educational research, verbal data are gathered; and the researcher decides a specific protocol for sampling, data collection, data analysis, and presentation of results to inform the discipline about what is known about the educational problem because of the study. Types and sources of qualitative data vary widely, as well as the data collection methods to gather them. While qualitative research is empirical, as primary data are gathered, as well as rigorous and systematic in protocol and procedures, it often demands greater flexibility than quantitative research due to the reflection, reflexivity, and iterations often necessary to discover meaning from the data gathered (Suter, 2012). While qualitative researchers do not seek generalizability due to the contextual nature of the findings, measures of data quality remain necessary including transferability of data and authenticity (Elo et al., 2014).
While the qualitative method has specific tenets and principles within educational research, there are also specific research designs aligned with qualitative research and the field of education that are appropriate for exploring an educational problem at the doctoral level. In this course, you will explore these assorted approaches and begin to align the overall design that is most fitting to explore the educational problem and specifically, the construct or phenomenon of inquiry.
References:
Elo, S., Kääriäinen, M., Kanste, O., Pölkki, T., Utriainen, K., & Kyngäs, H. (2014). Qualitative content analysis: A focus on trustworthiness. SAGE Open, 4(1), 1-10.
ASSIGNMENT
Further consider whether the use of CQDAS or manual data analysis is most appropriate for the design choices made thus far for your educational problem of inquiry. The Educational Problem of Inquiry: “High School Administrator and Educator Support for LGBTQ Youth” OR “Identity and Utilization of Language to Support LGBTQ High School Youth”.
Assignment Instructions:
Prepare a simple 5-column evaluation table using Microsoft Excel or Word and evaluate at least five criteria for two CQDAS applications of your choice.
- In the far-left column, identify the two CQDAS applications to be evaluated.
- In Columns 2-4, identify the specific criteria you will use to consider the applications.
- Below the table, offer a full paragraph to justify your preference between the two applications based on your evaluative criteria. Cite your rationale using appropriate scholarly literature or research guides.
- Explain your preference in using a CQDAS application or manual content analysis for qualitative data analysis.
- Be sure to describe how and why your evaluation informed your preference.