The Qualitative Research Methods on Alcoholism - Essay Example

Alcoholism: Recovery Qualitative analysis College: Introduction This assignment is about the qualitative research methods and analysis on alcoholism. Qualitative research methods. This research begins from the bottom up process of collecting data from the sources through case study approach. The details of the research samples are contained in the appendix. The samples are taken from the internet source as indicated in the appendix and focuses mainly six individual case studies of both men and women who are struggling with alcololism. This research has employed the purposive sampling method based on people who have been purposely selected to provide the much needed data for the study because they have characteristics that are relevant for this research. The following table indicates the size of the sample in some details. NAME AGE SEX ETHNICITY BACKGROUND JULY, L 40 FEMALE WHITE AMERICAN Came from Alcoholic family ALETHEA 36 FEMALE BLACK AMERICAN Parents were alcoholic GINA 42 FEMALE ITALIAN AMERICAN Parents were alcoholics JOHN 52 MALE WHITE AMERICAN Influenced by school / peers DANNY 38 MALE WHITE AMERICAN Influenced by Friends BILL 44 MALE BLACK AMERICAN Not Known The researcher has purposely chosen a smaller size of six individuals, 3 men and 3 women because this sample is manageable and also represents both gender. The samples are real stories of people who have recovered from alcoholism though their names are anonymous and their demographic details have been changed to project their identity. Given that this assignment, is based on qualitative in nature the analysis and interpretation of the collected data will enable to the find the answer to the solution to the problem being investigated. Similarly, the researcher will also apply the qualitative data to understand the social phenomenon of alcoholism by engaging with the respondents within the alcohol anonymous setting where direct communication and observation is carried. According to Ehnert (2009), qualitative data needs to be prepared and organized in an appropriate source of information before they are interpreted and analyzed. For instance, in this project the researcher will have to study, analyse, interpret and present the case studies in an appropriate format. Furthermore, the analysis of this qualitative data will be analysed and interpreted in the light of the relevant theories, concepts/ theoretical and conceptual frameworks. In addition, the emerging themes, narratives and chronological events will be interpreted to convey meaning to the findings. The researcher had to use the case study methodological approach to obtain data from the six participants, that are listed in the table above. The researcher had chosen the case study research methodology because it s the most effective technique for analyzing and feeling the real situation on the ground by looking into the detailed information about the individual lives. Case study approach is so effective in exploring issues within a specific field in order to support or nullify a specific hypothesis. Through the use of case study design, the researcher was able to engage in an in-depth study of the research subject at hand, dealing with alcoholism. The Case study design strategy is also effective when it comes to the systematic investigation of individuals and groups in their situations. The researcher used this approach conduct a long research project that also captured the changing trends. The case study approach also gives a detailed description of participant’s experiences which can be employed as a learning curve. It be argued that case study strategy is so effective when it comes to providing details of the real situations and in the context this is why it has been used to collect data in both qualitative and quantitative research. There are several advantages of using case studies. It has been identified that it enables researchers to carry out a specific examination of individuals in a real life situation. However, this approach also has demerits. For example, when using this approach, a researcher must be prepared to take lots of time to develop their findings. Also, they tend to be contextualised or narrowly focusing on the specific individual issues at hand. Meanwhile, the researcher had to follow strict ethical guidelines for conducting research. The ethical issues being addressed were as follows: A). Informed Consent: This research had raised the issue of informed consent, given that the researcher is in a position of authority has unrestricted access to the participant’s details. The researcher had to seek permission from the respondents and relevant people to use the information from their files and databases. At the same time , the researcher made clear the intentions of using the information. B). Confidentiality: Confidentiality is a concept that is associated with the assuring the respondent that any information given will not be disclosed to the outsiders or reveal their identity to the third party. In order to assure the respondents of confidentiality, the researcher promises not mention the name of respondents on the research records. The names will remain anonymous, and their identities will be removed from the records. By and large, the researcher will provide the respondents with verbal and written specifications and negotiate between what they are comfortable disclosing or holding. However, the researcher will also explain through words or in writing that she will protect the identity and response of her respondents (Loue, 2000 & Babbie, 2013). The researcher promises to treat every information with privacy and not to disclose the identity or personal information of any of her respondents to authorized people or bodies. The researcher will protect the identities of her respondents and promises not to use the names of any individual, institution or group in any given publication or organization. C). Deception: Intentional deception is one of ethical issues found in research. In most cases, it is associated with the act of holding and concealing information or using deceptive instructions to force the respondents to imply with the researcher’s wishes or even manipulating the laboratory and field tests to wrongfully to produce the results that we want. In order to deal with this ethical problem, the author will make sure that the purpose, goals and objectives of her research study are clearly stated to research respondents. She will make sure the interviewee and research subjects are well informed about concerning the researcher’s intentions. Although, the researcher is a manager she will not use position to threaten, coerce or buy people to take part in her research project or manipulate their opinions, views, thoughts or feelings to support her position (Bankert & Amdur, 2006). The researcher promises not to use any act of deception like creating false impression, cooking research findings or using empty or unrealistic promises in return for participating in research process. The researcher will be careful not to use her power to exploit those who are under her management or coerce them into being obedient. The researcher will instead apply care to avoid difficult situations or insert my position to put pressure on my respondents. The best method to do this is to be open with my respondents and tell them what the research is all about, what it involves and how the data will be used. Through the open policy, the respondents will then choose and decide whether or not they are willing to carry on with research or whether they want to opt out. D). Plagiarism: In the field of academic research, plagiarism is considered as an ethical problem that may lead to disqualification from the educational institution and may also lead to legal consequences. It is considered as a serious issue often equated with literary or intellectual theft because stealing someone else’ ideas. The solution to this problem is to give credit to and acknowledge the source of the information used to the original writer or speak through proper citation or referencing (Marsh, 2007). Plagiarism is usually viewed as imitating the thoughts and languages of other people without their authorization and using the work of other writers as your own by not crediting it to the original writer. This research will also rely much on both primary and secondary sources, such as published or unpublished materials like books, journals, company policies, procedures, reports e.t.c. The researcher needs to be careful when accessing and when using other people’s written work not commit plagiarism. He or she must recognize and appreciate what other people have done and carefully acknowledge what they have done through referencing. In this research project, the researcher promises not use to the work of others as her own publications or taking undeserved credit for work that someone else has developed, written, authored or illustrated. She has promised provide proper referencing and acknowledgement where required (Johnson Christensen, 2011 p.100). E). Privacy: Privacy in research is about respecting and not exposing the opinions, views and concerns of the research respondents to the public or through publication. Given that the researcher is the head of human resource department, her research subjects are those who are under authority and may feel intimidated. In such a scenario, the research participants would be likely to express their honest feelings, thoughts and beliefs that may be detrimental to their work in the company. It is the obligation of the researcher to protect her respondents from exposure. The respondents may reveal some information that is very sensitive or considered a taboo in the society or in the company and yet valuable to the researcher. And therefore, it is the researcher must promise to provide security and protection by holding all the information with lots of privacy (Loue, 2000 & Babbie, 2013). Read More