Coding and Analysis of Qualitative Data - Assignment Example

Assignment-2 Customer Inserts His/Her Name Customer Inserts Grade Course Customer Inserts Tutor’s Name March 24, 2009 Assignment-2 Part A: Reflections on the Activities and Discussion Introduction In this section a report of the reflections on the discussion made on the MySCU site will be presented. The discussion was on topics 6-9 that included: Data collection in qualitative research, qualitative data analysis, ethical issues, and writing a qualitative research project. Here, issues on coding and analysis of qualitative data will be taken into account. Coding Coding is way of analysing the data collected during a research. It is when the data is categorised into “themes” and “categories”. This idea is consistently displayed in the discussion forum, with every student recognising the fact that coding involves assembling similar data together, whether by assigning it different codes, using “coloured felt pens” or through other means. The idea behind coding is to make it easier for the data to be interpreted and conclusions to be reached at. Coding also reduces the volume of data and this would allow for easier evaluation of the data. This is because there would be similar data together and the researcher need not look into every data then; he may simply look into a part of the data involved in each category. However, in my opinion through coding leads to reducing of information this is not the aim of the researcher. It is actually done to group similar data together. It is an “interpretation and examination” of the collected data, as was said in the discussion forum by one student. It is to put data of different viewpoint into same “containers”. A lot of information is present on coding that allows us to ponder on the process. Coding is part of the process of data analysis. Data analysis is done to refine the information that has been obtained. It is done so that the data attained can be presented in a proper, easily readable way that would also allow for easily getting a conclusion to that. Analysis of Qualitative Data Analysis of qualitative data is done along with collecting the data. That is, the two processes are conducted simultaneously. Data can be collected through interviews, studies, etc. And after enough information has been gathered, the researcher has to analyse and tabulate it. Qualitative researchers conduct personalized interviews and surveys to get the required data. Also, there can be observation done and focus groups for the collection of data. These have been discussed by various students in the forum. After the collection of data it is analysed and tabulated. For this purpose there is coding which has been already discussed above. Also, as is discussed in the forums, there are themes and categories that the data is divided into so as to ease the process of analysis. To theme and categorise data is to “link the data by giving voice to your informants”. This allows for proper interpretation of data and to summarize the information collected and coded. Also, categorising “reduces the volume of data”. This was a viewpoint on the discussion forum. Although this is a valid point, I do not agree that it actually aims to do this. My point is that although categorising does lessen the amount of information, it is actually done to make analysis easier and not to decrease the data available. However, we can argue that the reduction in data would also allow for easier analysis. For example, the way division of living things into various groups allows biologists to study them better, same way the division of data into categories would help the researches to study it better and reach a conclusion. Similarly, themes are used to interconnect the ideas that are obtained during the research. They are “relationships between concepts” or the “units” that the data is divided into as was rightly said by students. After categorising and putting the data into themes, the research has to be further analysed. That is, the researcher has to look into the data, read it, and reread. This gives him a very good idea of what information he has obtained. He then has to again go through it so as to try to find a connection between the data and the theories that he has or believes in. The researcher is dealing with qualitative data, which means that information obtained from each individual can be different. This makes the analysis more difficult than it is for the quantitative data. The qualitative researcher has to also look for any negative evidences that may be present in the data. This he does by the above mentioned process. That is, he goes through the data again and again and categorises the similar ones while keeping negative evidence separate. This is important for arriving at a gainful result of the research as it allows the researcher to know if “something hasn’t shown up which was just as important as to address”. This is required so that if such data is come across upon, the researcher can reconsider the research method. Also it is required so that the researcher can “test his perceptions”, as was said by one student in the discussion forum. That is, the researcher has to be sure as to whether the data gathered matches the observation that he has done. This was a common viewpoint agreed upon in the discussion forum by various students. Negative evidence also gets rid of any personal bias as various unknown opinions are also considered. The researcher’s personal observation would lead to reporting of his own perceptions and this would result in the report “getting cloudy if contrary opinions are not taken into consideration”. Finally, the researcher has to make a report of the research for which there is a six chapter thesis. However, qualitative researchers can be loose about this point and prepare a report of a different format. This is due to the fact that they have an “informal style that has a personal tone” and that a literature review may often not be present. Part B: Research Proposal on “Confucian value on Chinese Doing Business” In this section a qualitative research proposal about the Confucian value on Chinese business will be developed. The research proposal will take into account various aspects of this topic and the way that the research would be conducted. This research proposal will address these topics: introduction, literature review, methodology, ethical issues, and research budget forecast. Introduction Counter to the individualism that is practised and encouraged in several Western nations, Confucian philosophy concentrates on the ethical discussion on how a society can be organised that would result in a promotion of steadiness as well as shared interests. The philosophy provides with a satisfaction of plane to communal instead of personal wellbeing and it identifies the interdependence individuals; that is, the way that one treats another ascertains the worth of the society which is formed (Rojer, 2007). In this paper the effect of Confucianism on Chinese business will be discussed along with taking into consideration the circumstances of China's economic incorporation into the world. Some research has been done previously as well, for example by Chan (2007). For the research certain modern Chinese businessmen/women will be presented who act according to the Confucian values. The reasons for this occurrence will be presented and the part of harmony that is stressed upon by Confucianism will be considered. Some findings show that silence connections (guanxi), tolerance and harmony are stressed upon by the Chinese commerce commune (Moreiro & Li, 1999). Literature Review Confucian Values Confucian philosophy is centred upon four main virtues: sincerity, benevolence, filial piety and propriety (Entrepreneur, 2006). Sincerity means to be honest, to comply with your promises, to carefully exercise your responsibilities to others. Sincerity was considered a spontaneous morality; taking into account that Confucius thought sincerity to be inclusive of the ability of being honourable by yourself. That ethical consistency actually starts with one’s sincerity (Hahn, 2000) Benevolence means to trouble oneself about the wellbeing of others and to stay ready to be of assistance to others if anyone needs you at some time. Filial piety relates to the respect that you have to show to the desires of the paternal parent. This is somewhat like the Christian commandment that says: “honour thy father and thy mother”. In the Chinese society this idea is more meaningful in the mind. Filial piety means to be completely subservient to the desires of the father. This includes living with your parents after getting married and, previously, following the entitlement of the parents to plan the marriage (Wang, n.d.). Propriety covers every feature of human conduct and continues on to the complicated arrangement of rituals and traditions that daily Chinese activities are bound to. (Sprunger, n.d.). Rite is an important section of the virtue of propriety. Methodology Along with presenting a little of the existing literature on this topic of Confucian values in Chinese business, this paper will also describe a qualitative study that can be conducted to research into this topic. For the research the method of “ethnography” will be employed. This is due to the fact that for this topic we would have to consider the business people who adhere to the Confucian values, for which we would have to target that particular group of persons. And ethnography concerns researching on a group which has developed shared values, beliefs and assumptions (Cresswell, 1998). In this case the group would be the businessmen/women who believe in and follow the Confucian values and ethics that are related to the business side. For the study on this topic we have chosen qualitative research instead of quantitative because of the nature of the topic. For the topic “Confucian values in Chinese business” the study conducted cannot be a generalized one like one that may be done to investigate into the techniques used by companies to counter competition. In this case the researcher would have to personally see into individual business people to get their viewpoint about their beliefs on Confucian values and how they practice them. Data Collection Technique The technique used in this proposal for the collection of data will be interviewing the participants. Interviews are simply “a conversation with a purpose” (Berg, 2004, p.75). In depth interviews will be conducted as it will enable us to gain an insight into the Chinese business people as to their views about Confucian values. It will allow us to delve into the personal perspectives of individuals and thus would give better results because we would be better able to gauge the practices of the business people of Chinese entity and what importance they give to the ethics of business. Interviewing is time consuming and that means we would spend time personally with the participants, thus gaining data as to their real thoughts. It will also take time to analyse the interview responses (Boyce and Neale, 2006). The researcher should be trained for the process of interviewing. This would allow for better and reliable results. For this, training can be obtained beforehand. The results have to be consistent and have maximum validity and reliability and that would be possible if we are conversant with the participant when interviewing him and giving him full attention plus taking in each and everything that he says. Also, we have to be probing with the interviewee so that we can get the real facts and thoughts out of the person. Analysis of Data After the interviews have been conducted and enough data has been collected we would have to analyse the data so as to make sense of it and reach to a conclusion regarding the study that we conducted. That is, we would have to identify the units of analysis, make comparisons, and reflect on our findings. After going through the data collected we have to make categories in which to put the data so as to tabulate it. Different groups can be created depending on the variety of data gathered. That is, coding will be done. This means that same aged people can put in one group, or instead of the age of people their occupation can be taken into account, or their sex or academic background (Lofland & Lofland, 1995). After that going through the data will result in our reflecting on it and reaching to a conclusion. We would be also able to find any negative evidences that are apparent in the information gathered and by that questions can be raised as to whether the data is clear enough or not (Miller & Fredericks, 2003). If required, another interview session will have to be conducted so as to provide with improved and accurate results. Verification and Dissemination of Findings Verifying involves checking the credibility and validity of the information gathered, and the method called triangulation is used as a means of checks and balances (Guion, 2007). The findings can be triangulated by making use of additional research techniques, such as focus groups and surveys. Triangulation is used for measuring a single concept or construct utilising a number of different data collection methodologies (Berg, 2004). This is important because it has to be shown whether the results that we got through this research are reliable enough. That is, credibility about the results has to be established. This can be done by asking the interviewees if their responses are really their real personal thoughts. Or other types of data collection techniques can be adopted that would give a chance to compare the results from both the types of methods and see to what extent they are similar, or how much disparity is present among them. Also, it can be thought about that how much of these results obtained can be applicable to other respondents, of different culture or country. The data would have to be seen into whether it is valid enough or not. For the purpose of validating the results there are basically four issues that we have to consider; that are: credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability (Gass & Mackey, 2005). Ethical Issues There should be ethical issues considered in every research that is undertaken. In this research also we will take into account the ethical issues involved and see to it that the participants are given their rights. First of all we will have to make sure that the respondents participating in the research are participating voluntarily. They have to be entering the research by their own choice and any kind of coercion or persuasion is not to be allowed. There are times when people participate as they feel that they should, even though they do not want to. We have to make sure that such is not the case in the research we are going to conduct. Secondly, the participants should be informed about the research beforehand. This is the informed consent (Rickards & Schwartz, 2002). That means, the people should be told the details about the research, why it is being conducted, how it will done and for what purpose (Jowell, 1986). After that if the respondents agree to participate it is okay. Otherwise, it would be a breach in the law of ethics. The participants are to be treated properly and with respect and thus they should have a complete knowledge about the research that they would be participating in. A third issue in the ethical side is the privacy (Jonas, 1994). Although we would be asking questions from the people concerning their views about the Confucian values in the Chinese business, we have to make sure that their privacy is maintained, during and after the research. Confidentiality and anonymity is more or less the same as privacy. It means that the results obtained are to be kept confidential unless the person agrees to share the results with the public, and allows the publication of it. Deception has also to be taken account of (Gonzalez-Perez, 2007). The person should not be given wrong concepts about the research being conducted. All these issues have to be considered while conducting the research. We will see to it that these ethical issues are not breached as keeping in mind these issues is a critical element of any research. Even before the research is conducted it should be investigated thoroughly so as to make sure that it is proper and would not cause undue stress or psychological problems to the people it would be subjected to. Conclusion This report has summarized the basic requirements of the research that we will conduct on the issues “Confucian values in Chinese business” and has taken into consideration all the problems and factors that should be considered. Explanation about the topic was given first, followed by the way that the study would be conducted, that is, by ethnography, and interviews will be performed. The way that data would be collected in explained and the method of its analysis is given. After that, in order to make sure that the data collected is reliable enough, it would be tested. The testing can be done by analyzing the data again and again and looking for any negative evidences. If there are many disparities in the results, or contradictions towards our original theories, we would have to conduct the research again. Also, we can conduct the research through other means and then compare the results to see as to how similar they are. After collection of the data and its analysis as well as proving its trustworthiness, we would write a report on it. The report would take into consideration all the factors that were involved with the research. It would explain in more detail how the research was conducted; for what purpose; what ethical issues were taken into consideration and how we saw to it that they were not breached; how the data was then categorised and into what categories; and what are the conclusions that we come to, whether the study relates to our initial understandings of the topic, if there is much discrepancy between them, or if overall there are varied views on it. References July 2006. Ethics and doing business in China. Retrieved March 24 2009. From: http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/158527313_3.html Berg, Bruce L. (2004). Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences, 5th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Boyce, C. & Neale, P. 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