Qualitative Research Design - Term Paper Example

Qualitative Research Design Table of Contents I. Introduction II. Research Methodologies II.i. Methodological Approach II.ii. Selection of Methodology III. Research Design III.i. Research Methods and Methodologies III.ii. Data Collection III.iii. Data Analysis III.iv. Credibility and Ethical Consideration III.v. Data Presentation IV. Proposed Study IV.i. Title IV.ii. Purpose of Study IV.iii. Methodology IV.iv. Data Collection and Analysis IV.v. Ethical Consideration IV.vi. Data Presentation V. Conclusion Reference I. Introduction This paper is about the research to be conducted in order to understand the issues related to communication in order to establish most effective care goals. The paper analyses different research methodologies. The first part of the paper analyses the research methodologies, methodological approaches and selection of methodology. The next section deals with the research design process. This section covers research methods and methodologies, data collection and data analysis, credibility and ethical consideration and data presentation. The following section explains the project in detail. It provides justification of using particular method of research study and the proposed research process in detail. II. Research Methodologies There is various research methodologies used for various research purposes. There has been various developments in the filed of research studies. These developments were based on the research needs in various areas. The development in the field of science and technology has also supported the researchers and scientists to conduct their researches effectively and efficiently. There has been a debate over the ways research has been conducted in different streams of art and science. “The dichotomies between notions of objective and subjective and between art and science seem to parallel the dichotomy between the world of research and the world of practice. This dichotomy is not new and has been the focus of a debate which has unfolded over the past half century. The ‘researcher-clinician split’ which occurred in psychology in the 1950s has been attributed to the attack mounted by Eysenck on psychotherapy as pseudo-science (Hersen & Barlow, 1976). Yet behaviorism strongly assisted in the development of the clinician-researcher or practitioner-scientist in psychology, with single subject research designs and other quasi- experimental methods being refined for use in clinical settings.”1 II.i. Methodological Approach There are basically two kinds of research methodologies used by the researchers in the field of academics. These are Qualitative and Quantitative methods. Each of the methods is different in its approach, data collection, data analysis and framework within which it can be utilized best. There have been debates on the best research methods. But any researcher chooses his research method based on the subject, availability of resources, hypothesis, research objectives and research limitations. Historically linked with the change in relative emphasis from generation to verification of theory was the clash between advocates of quantitative and qualitative data. The generators of theory in the late 1930's, by and large, had used qualitative data in a nonsystematic and nonrigorous way (when they used data at all), in conjunction with their own logic and common sense. In addition, monographs based on qualitative data consisted of lengthy, detailed descriptions which resulted in very small amounts of theory, if any. The effort in these mono- graphs was to "get the story straight." In short, the work based on qualitative data was either not theoretical enough or the theories were too "impressionistic."2 At the initial stages when the development of research science took place, qualitative research emerged as a primitive research tool. Later the techniques for quantitative methods and analysis based on statistical models developed. Quantitative Methods: Quantitative results were easier to comprehend and relate to the subject matter; whereas qualitative results were based on researchers’ ability and arguments he presented to support his theory and results. “A quantitative approach is one in which the investigator primarily uses post positivist claims for developing knowledge (i.e. cause and effect thinking, reduction to specific variables and hypotheses and questions, use of measurement and observation, and the test of theories). 3(Creswell, 2003, p.19) It can be based on questionnaires, surveys and other data collection tools. The involvement of researcher is less. The data collected can be analyzed by data analysis tools. Qualitative Methods: There have been various debates over which technique is best. But later on the importance of qualitative researches grew as it provided a tool of analysis for the complicated and complex subjects like psychology, communication, sociology, medical sciences where the theme of research was analyzing behavior, emotional component or the factors unknown. “Qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of or interpret phenomenon in terms of the meanings people bring to them.”(Denzin & Lincoln, 2000, p.3)4 Qualitative research will be very effective when the detailed and complete description is required where as quantitative analysis will be useful when features of research which can be quantified are available and can construct some form of statistical model to explain these features and related results. Qualitative analysis is always recommended before any quantitative analysis as it provides the factors or features which can be quantified. “Qualitative research is an inquiry into the personal world of others that, if one is fortunate, becomes a journey into oneself. Qualitative inquiry offers opportunities for the researcher to inquire into oneself while inquiring into the other. — Sears (1992, p. 147)”5 Usually the researchers today use mixed methodology based on their research requirements. In qualitative analysis most of the time researcher can not expect the results and the results might be very different from the hypothesis. Researcher or the research team forms main tool of data collection and their presence is required for the data collection process. The involvement of researcher is essential at each and every level of the qualitative research. “Qualitative research methods have descended from several disciplines and belong to twenty or more diverse traditions (Miller & Crabtree, 1992). Despite such diversity the core qualitative methods can be described as follows: In-depth interviewing of individuals and small groups. Systematic observation of behavior. Analysis of documentary data.”6 Qualitative research requires more time and efforts to collect data as compared to quantitative. Data analysis is complicated and based on the ability of researcher. In the recent past the mixed methods have been considered to be the best way to conduct any research. It is usually a qualitative research at the initial stage. Based on the results of the initial stages quantifiable factors or features are decided and the quantitative research is carried out. “In qualitative research, coding is an integral part of the analysis, involving sifting through the data, making sense of it and categorizing it in various ways.”7 There are several methods of conducting qualitative research. The interviews are one of the oldest methods among these. The extended form of interviews are focus group studies in which two or more participants are involved and each participant can be involved in discussion with other. The new research method Action research allows voluntary participation of participants. Mixed Methods: According to Greene, Caracelli and Graham (1989) (as cited in Darlington and Scott: 2002) there are various reasons of using mixed methods. They had identified five main purpose of the use of mixed method approaches. The result was based on the study they had conducted to understand the reason of using mixed method. They reviewed 57 evaluation studies for the same. They identified 5 main purposes of using mixed methods triangulation; complementarity; development; initiation; and expansion. Each of these has been explained as follows: “ Triangulation seeks convergence, corroboration and correspondence of results from the different methods. Complementarity seeks elaboration, enhancement, illustration and clarification of the results from one method with the results from the other method. Development seeks to use the results from one method to help develop or inform the other method, where development is broadly construed to include sampling and implementation, as well as measurement decisions. Initiation seeks the discovery of paradox and contradiction, new perspectives of frameworks, the recasting of questions or results from one method with questions or results from the other method. Expansion seeks to extend the breadth and range of inquiry by using different methods for different inquiry components (Greene et al., 1989, p. 259).” 8 Majority of the cases the mixed methods are used for the development purpose. II.ii. Selection of Methodology Selection of research methodology and methods depends on various factors like research goals and objectives, researcher’s interest, skills, funds and resources available and time. A good researcher will always focus on the subject and the data required for the subject matter. Based on the previous research conducted in that particular subject matter researcher can decide whether sufficient material is available or not for his research. Researcher may decide on the use of qualitative methods where more complex and interaction processes are involved. The interpretive methods are required at each stage of the data collection. III. Research Design Research design of any research includes methodology and method choice of the research, data collection, data analysis, credibility and ethical concerns of research and data presentation. III.i. Research Methods and Methodologies Use of qualitative, quantitative or mixed research methods depends on the researcher and research objectives. According to Darlington and Scott (2002) during 1990s the use of qualitative research methods grew in the fields of social studies and behavioral studies. The reason of increasing interest in these fields was the possibility of discourse and narrative analysis in the cultural settings offered by the qualitative methods. “In the 1990s the extension of ‘evidence-based practice’ from medicine to the rest of the health field, as well as to education and social welfare, gave empiricist approaches a new vigour in a context of resource scarcity in which effectiveness and efficiency were dominant concerns for government.9 Quantitative research methods are used in natural and social sciences. It is a process of systematic collection of data and establishing relationship on the basis of quantifiable data. III.ii. Data Collection Data collection in quantitative methods is easier than qualitative methods as it does not require researcher at each and every level of data collection. Whereas collection of considerably large number of data is practically possible within limited time period in quantitative methods this can be very challenging in the case of qualitative methods. Quantitative data usually verify the existing theories and hypothesis rather than developing a new one. These can be a good source of developing new theories as well. In these monographs, discovery cannot be stopped, but breaks through both verifications and preconceived conceptual schemes to pro-vide us with very interesting and important theory. 10 Qualitative data analysis on one hand identifies the patterns of data in different ways in which data can be related to each other, quantitative data analysis analyses the mathematical relation in the pattern of data, frequency, strength and correlation of data. These may range from the microscopic to the macroscopic and may be social practices, episodes, encounters, roles, relationships, groups, settlements, social worlds, lifestyles or subcultures. Within each, the specific aspect of focus may be cognitive meanings, feelings or inequalities, and any given study may be focused at one or more levels and one or more aspects.” 11 The data pattern identified in the qualitative analysis is usually based on the focus or objective of studies as in one observation researcher might get number of factors interesting but not related to the study objectives. It becomes researcher’s responsibility to keep the focus on the research objectives. For instance in a research where a psychological impact on the patient due to long the way there problem is being addressed by various professional in a particular institute of setup is being analyzed. If an individual being interviewed talks about the ambience of the set up and what he feels towards that than it might not be relevant to the research objective which is focused to study the impact of the behaviors of professionals. In such case even if the point raised by patient can be interesting it can not be included directly for the analysis. “The freedom and flexibility that we claim for generating theory from quantitative data will lead to new strategies and styles of quantitative analysis, with their own rules yet to be discovered.” 12 Glaser and Strauss (1967) focus on the wish of researcher or analyst. According to them analyst can convert the qualitative data into quantitative data in order to test a hypothesis provisionally. It will require coding of data and analysis of it. This will require an effort to bring all the relevant data to a point where it can be systematically arranged and analyzed. “If the analyst wishes only to generate theoretical ideas -- new categories and their properties, hypotheses and interrelated hypotheses -- he cannot be confined to the practice of coding first and then analyzing the data since, in generating theory, he is constantly redesigning and reintegrating his theoretical notions as he reviews his material. Analysis after the coding operation would not only unnecessarily delay and interfere with his purpose, but the explicit coding itself often seems an unnecessary, burdensome task.” 13 The focus of the researcher or analyst should be discovering new properties with the help of data collected for the existing theoretical categories or new theory. Data collection becomes challenging when the researcher is not focused. The well structured and well planned approach will allow the researcher to collect all the data relevant and important for the study. This will happen when researcher has complete vision of his work and objectives. The data collection in any of the methods whether qualitative or quantitative, is a tedious process and requires lots of energy and resources. In the case of qualitative data collection researcher need to be very careful about the data collection process as it can be observational as well. In the case of quantitative data collection if the research is based on structured questionnaire with closed ended questions least involvement of researcher would be required. The researcher can collect data as long as he is in the field or the area of his research. Once he has left the filed it will be very difficult for him to recollect the same data. III.iii. Data Analysis Data analysis in each method is different from each other. In quantitative method data can be analyzed by using various statistical tools. The relationship, correlation factor, sample size, variance all the other factors will be considered wherein in the case of qualitative research the analysis will be based on observations done by the researcher. It will totally depend on researcher’s ability to analyze the data. III.iv. Credibility and Ethical Consideration In any of the data collection and analysis methods the credibility of data should be ensured in order to get to the best conclusions. The ethical considerations should not be ignored. In the cases where confidentiality is ensured to the respondents, it should be maintained. Any fact or observation results should not be presented without the consent of particular individual or community. The results should be free from any biasness. III.v. Data Presentation In quantitative research methods data is presented in various ways using graphs, charts, tables etc. It can be organized well. Qualitative data requires logical presentation of analysis and observation. IV. Proposed Study Proposed study is an effort to understand the factors of communication which are important in order to establish effective care goals in a medical care setup. The communication gaps are responsible for many misunderstandings and mental trauma for the patient, patient’s family as well as professionals working with them. The communication gap can be of any form. It can be due to the lack of information, lack of coordination, language problem, critical hour, state of patient and other factors. Each individual in a medical service care center setup will have different experiences. The service gap which they feel resulted due to the communication gap can be identified with a proper method of research. IV.i. Title The title of the research is “How increased communication between staff, patient families can resolve differences in order to establish the most effective care goals?” IV.ii. Project Aim and definition The aim of the project is to identify inadequacies in the communication stream between staff and patient families. The responses of the participants will be analyzed in order to find out the best ways to empower both the patient families and staff to improve the communication. Furthermore the project will attempt to identify and determine potential power imbalances that may impede effective communication and identify the reasons why information at each and every source differ and vary in standards which creates confusion for the parties involve. Uses of different terminologies by the staff members create confusion among the patient family and patients. IV.iii. Purpose of Study The purpose of the study is to identify various issues resulting in ineffective communication among staff, patient and family members. The assumption in the study is that the communication problems are due to the following reasons: 1. Different terminologies used by staff 2. Unavailability of standardized information 3. Lack of information on the patient contact points like inquiry or customer care 4. Delayed information 5. Behavioral issues related to staff and patients IV.iv. Methodology The methodology of the research is based on Action Research. According to Holloway and Wheeler (2002) “Action research is a method which promotes and seeks voluntary participation of individuals and groups in the theory that it will empower and promote change in a manner that is sensitive to the needs and potential issues of the disempowered group. Full involvement of the researcher and co-researchers to make collaborative informed decisions, in the effort to change and improve health services.” Some of the researchers believe that action research is connected to the social action. The reason why action research is used is to bring a change in any particular social set up. “Action research offers ways in which people can improve social life through research on the here and now, but also in relation to wider social structures and processes - as people whose interconnections constitute the wider webs of interaction which structure social life in discourses, in work, and in the organizational and interpersonal relationships in which we recognize relations of power.” (Kemmis, 1993)14 In this kind of research method of qualitative analysis the freedom of participation allows people to be part of the changes to be implemented for all concerned. People participate on voluntary basis, share and acquire information to reinforce change. The power imbalance can be identified in this process. This is a qualitative research methodology which will be very effective in a setup like this. The focus group study will support the involvement of participants in each others responses and allow sharing their own experiences and views. This will help in bringing more issues and ideas related to the research objective. IV.v. Data Collection and Analysis Data collection will be based on the participation of the target respondents who are staff members and patients and their family members. The research will be conducted by a group of researchers, support researchers and other staff like key note takers and analysts. The study will be conducted in three different levels: Level 1: 30 Doctors linked directly to the patients across all the levels and units Level 2: 30 Patients and Family members on voluntary basis across all the levels and units Level 3: 30 other staff like nurses, information providers and others across all the levels and units Process of Data Collection: Posters will be used as a tool to invite target respondents for the participation. This poster will have the objective and benefits of study, date and venue of focus group study and an appeal to participate. It will provide different time slabs and schedule of the focus group study and request participant to inform about the time slab in which they would like to participate in advance. Further information sessions would define and outline the study and its significance about why and how the study evolved and the data is collected and what happens with the data. The study is based on focus group study. It will be conducted in a natural setting within the hospital or medical care centre premise with prior consent and permission with the authority. Group of 10 people of each level will be invited to participate at a time If required the potential vulnerable participants will be managed individually. Participants will be informed about the research objectives, procedures and interest of researcher to ensure the credibility of data and informed consent of participants. It will be a dual moderator focus group study. One moderator will initiate the discussion and keep track of whether the discussion is going beyond the focus of study while other will ensure that every points of study is being covered. Each of them will also record the data. The research question will be easily understandable and open ended. Moderator will allow the group to be spontaneous. Participation of each individual will be encouraged. Skilled note taker will record the conversation and the information about facial expressions and hand movements. It will help in matching the data during taped session. Note taker will also transcribe and highlight the data focusing on common issues. The documentation of notes will be comprehensive and systematic. It will be recorded carefully with all the required details like date of observation etc and will be carefully stored in an organized way. IV.vi. Ethical Consideration The focus group study is based on informed consent of the participants. All the consequences and potential results will be analyzed and presented before the focus group study in front of the participants. Any kind of vulnerability attached and potential of unsafe and highly charged issue will be communicated to the participants. The confidentiality will be maintained. If required identity of the participant will not be disclosed without his/her consent. V. Conclusion Based on the project objective, aims and methodologies available the use of qualitative theory is appropriate in such scenario. There can be many more issues than the assumptions in the study which can be identified and explored with the help of qualitative analysis. This study will benefit the staff, patient and families of the patients to develop more supportive and effective communication environment which will help in improving the standards of care. Reference Merchant, B. M and Willis, A. 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