Major Steps in the Research Process - Essay Example

?Research Methods Q1 Describe the steps in the research process. Why is the research process useful to researchers? There are a number of steps in the research process. For both quantitative and qualitative research it is recognized that there are seven steps. Still, the exact sequencing of these steps differs contingent on whether the research is quantitative or qualitative. The first step in quantitative research is when the researcher selects a topic. Selecting a topic generally involves a broad area or theme. For research, however, a topic is generally too broad. The next stage of the research process then is establishing a research question. Establishing a research question involves narrowing down the topic and in many instances consulting existing research literature to determine potential areas of need and focus. Additionally it is often necessary to establish a research hypothesis. After the quantitative research topic has been narrowed down to a question, then the next stage of the research is to design a study. Designing a study involves many components; these components include considering research participants and establishing the means that the data gathered will be analyzed. After the research study has been designed the study moves to the next stage. This stage is the data collection stage. For quantitative research data is almost exclusively gathered in the form of numbers. The next stage involves interpreting the data; generally this includes computer programs that examine the data. The final stage then is informing others. Informing others of the findings involves writing the specific research methodology and results in down in a specific format for publication. While qualitative research steps are very similar to quantitative research there are a number of differences. The first stage of qualitative research is self-assessment. In this way there is a, “highly self-aware acknowledgment of social self, or of a researcher’s position in society.”1 This is a highly significant difference from quantitative research as the former relies heavily on statistical data, where qualitative research necessitates that the researchers adopt a perspective for interpretation. Following the consideration of this personal perspective, however, the qualitative research steps largely mirror those in the quantitative process. In this way, the following qualitative research steps involve designing a study, collecting data, and analyzing data. Still, for qualitative research there is added emphasis placed on interpreting this data, as qualitative interpretation places a greater burden on the research to finding meaningful significance. The final stage of qualitative research – like quantitative research – is the sharing of these findings through publication. These research steps are highly useful to researchers for a number of reasons. From an overarching perspective these research steps each constituting a necessary component of the overarching research goal. From other perspectives one considers the systematic nature of the research process -- each of the steps builds onto the next one. It’s noted that, “Research is an interactive process in which steps blend into each other. A later step may consideration of a previous one.”2 In this way, the research process is highly useful as it provides researchers a way of directing the flow of the research process. Additionally, there is the recognition that these research steps are highly useful to the researcher as the help reduce study bias and provide a strong and effective structure for conducting research. Ultimately, if researchers were to not have these divisions there would be increased difficulty establishing the systematic process that ultimately builds into a significant body of knowledge. Q2 Qualitative studies are high in validity and low in reliability whereas quantitative may be low in validity and high in reliability. Why? Researchers recognize that qualitative studies are high in validity and low in reliability, while quantitative research can be low in validity and high in reliability. There are a number of contributing reasons regarding these perspectives. In this mode of understanding there is the need to recognize that while validity and reliability are highly essential to research as they ensure effectiveness, it is impossible for research to be completely valid or completely reliable. This reality is due to the fact that science is not the process of ascertaining an absolute truth, but instead offers a series of approximations to realities. Reliability specifically refers to the ability of research to retain consistency throughout. Namely, if something in the research is consistent in at a different time during different circumstances then it is considered reliable. Validity is another research concept. Validity refers to the level of ‘truthfulness’ contained in the research.3 Validity then occurs when the constructs that a researcher uses to describe the world actually correspond to the social world. More specifically, validity refers to how well research constructs are able to replicate and study real world concepts. The nature of quantitative research naturally lends itself to high reliability levels. In this way, it’s noted that, “reliability is easiest to obtain when the measure is precise and observable.”4 The nature of quantitative research as implementing statistical and mathematical analytical criteria then greatly contributes to the nature of these precise and observable measures. One further considers that in quantitative research there are a variety of mathematical and statistical measures that are implemented to establish reliability. In this way, quantitative research implements measurement reliability, stability reliability, and equivalence reliability. All of these reliability measures implement statistical or mathematical methods that directly contribute to high reliability factors. While quantitative research is able to obtain high reliability, there is the recognition that it often as being low in validity. The main recognition in these regards is that rather than naturally observing reality in its essential nature, quantitative research is contingent on the natural phenomenon conforming to specific mathematical models. While the mathematical or statistical models may be able to consistently replicable the findings – reliability – they are oftentimes unable to replicate a valid formulation of reality. While quantitative research is high in reliability and low in validity, qualitative research demonstrates the exact opposite. There are a number of reasons that qualitative research demonstrates high validity. The form of data that is gathered through qualitative research methods is not contingent on mathematical models. Instead qualitative research oftentimes relies on interviews or the interpretation of questionnaires by the specific researcher. The main recognition in these regards is that the data collection methods are in direct accord with lived reality, or observed circumstances; they contain high validity since there is less mediation between this social reality and its formulation in a research method and analysis. Still, qualitative research is oftentimes viewed as demonstrating low reliability. Again, reliability refers to the ability of the research being replicated under similar circumstances with great consistency. While qualitative research is valid in is data collection methods, social reality is a highly complex occurrence that contains many systematic inputs. In this way it can be highly difficult to replicate a specific situation for because of the high amounts of complexity involved. Ultimately what occurs then is that qualitative research is successful in recording this social reality – valid – but it is challenged in reproducing this complexity in future contexts – reliability. References Neuman, L.W. Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Allyn & Bacon. 2005. Read More