Comparing Qualitative Research Designs - Essay Example

Comparing Qualitative Research Designs Date Comparing Qualitative Research Designs Introduction The qualitative research design is a powerful tool that is utilized by researchers and scientists to study human habits and behavior through the analysis of their experiences. Qualitative research design is also crucial to products designers who want to introduce new goods and services into the markets as the model will give them privy information on the market viability of the products to ensure only successful items are deployed. In research methods, qualitative research design often comes from quantitative analysis as it is used to come up with ideas and that are later utilized to formulate possible hypothesis for the subject that is under study. Once hypotheses have been formulated, they are analyzed scientifically by the use of standard quantitative research methods. There are a number of qualitative research design techniques; this paper is going to compare three principal methods namely; phenomenology, grounded theory and case study. Phenomenology People undergo various experiences in the course of their lives and these experiences are not isolated to any particular individual they occur to number of people through the feelings they generate or the personal experiences of people tend to differ in spite of the fact that they experienced the same occurrence. Phenomenology focuses on describing what all the people involved in a particular experience or situation for instance insomnia have in common as they undergo that phenomenon (Lewis and Staehler, 2010). The primary purpose of phenomenology is to elaborate experiences as they are lived or rather developing the experiences of individuals who experiences that phenomenon. In this case this technique will examine the uniqueness or what makes individual experiences different from the rest while undergoing the phenomenon under research at the same time explore the reality of each person in this particular situation since reality for each and every individual is subjective and thus cannot be generalized. It is through this technique that trends and traits of human beings can be deduced concerning on how they respond to particular situations (Creswell, 2014). Some of the notable research questions that are often associated with phenomenology include; what is the nature of a human being? What does experience indicate concerning the situation that is being studied? What are the necessary elements of the feeling in that particular phenomenon? These questions are aimed at coming up with a broad spectrum under which the phenomenon under study will be analyzed, and sufficient information gathered concerning human behavior (Lewis and Staehler, 2010). That notwithstanding, the research question forms the basic parameters for to what extent the research will extend it sets the limit for the research since a single research design cannot study the entire concept of any particular situation. Phenomenology does not have any distinct steps to be followed to come up with the methods of research. The researcher is not restricted to any procedural steps to enhance creativity which on the other hand will ensure the research meets its objectives as various techniques will be utilized to source for data that will be helpful in generating the hypothesis of the study (Creswell, 2014). Sampling and data collecting for the case of phenomenology are quite abstract since the technique is concerned with analyzing the experiences of people. Thus, first-hand information will be required, and this will involve observing the individuals who understand the topic under study and are ready to communicate what they undergo or experience whenever they encounter that particular phenomenon. In some instances, the research may be investigating a situation that involves inner feelings, for example, what people experience when they are left out by their lovers. Such situations cannot not be examined by mere observation the people involved need to open up and share their experiences in an insightful manner to enable the researcher to come up with formidable findings (Creswell, 2014). Direct observation can be utilized to gather certain aspects of the required data whereby human behavior are involved for instance observing how a patient suffering from a particular condition behaves. Relatively, other acts are difficult to narrate for the purposes of scientific analysis thus interviews with the participants can be recorded through audio or video devices to be analyzed later (Lewis and Staehler, 2010). Data analysis involves classification of collected data and ranking it to come up with an examination that is beyond human awareness. The outcomes of this technique are primarily from the subject’s perspective since all the data involved was collected based on the experiences of the individuals who were interrogated. However, structural elaborations of the findings are provided to come with a scientific point of view. Phenomenology is ideal for explorations involving social and health sciences, nursing, sociology as well as education (Creswell, 2014). Grounded Theory Typically, phenomenology is concerned with analyzing what people experience or undergo whenever they are facing a particular situation. Grounded theory goes beyond the findings of the experiences to come up with a theory that explains those experiences that people undergo. The generation of a theory is meant to come up with a concrete explanation of the practice as well as provide a rationale for future or further research work in that particular line of study. The theory that is formulated bases its provisions on the data that is collected concerning individual experiences in a given situation (Urquhart, 2010). Thus, it is tailor made to explain that particular situation and no other since the data that was utilized to develop it are exclusive for only that specific case. Therefore, grounded theory can be described as a qualitative design technique whereby a researcher develops an overall explanation for a particular situation based on the views of a broad cross-section of individuals who experienced that phenomenon. The purpose of grounded theory is to come up with a theory that acknowledges the problems that exist among the people and how those people respond to them (Urquhart, 2010). Grounded theory technique employs a comparative process as its method of research as the steps involved take place simultaneously. Data collection, in this case, involves interviewing the participants or rather individuals who have experienced the phenomenon under study as well as observing their external behavior. Depending on the nature of the phenomenon under research, the two methods can be used interchangeably, or they can also be utilized together whenever the situation dictates (Oktay, 2012). Data analysis in grounded theory differs from that of phenomenology since this technique involves formulating a theory thus the results from the individuals under study are refined to come up with a framework for further research work. There are three distinctive steps that are involved in data analysis for this particular qualitative research design (Urquhart, 2010). Grounded theory is mainly utilized to solve social business issues for instance, to determine the response of consumers towards a certain product that is new in the market. The techniques does not have a limit in terms of the sample size that it can accommodate as long the right information is gather sampling and analysis can be done successfully. Data that is collected is mainly first-hand information from the people maybe inform of interview, audio, video recordings and observation of the behavior of the targeted sample space. Data analysis involves three main steps that is; coding text and theorizing, memoing, integrating data and reefing and finally writing up the theories that have been developed. The first one is concept formation, after the data of the phenomenon has been gather it is then arranged in a logical manner to come up with a particular concept based on the subject under study. Concept development is aligning the purpose of the theory to be formulated with actual data from the subjects of the study. The concept is modified and integrated to come up with a general explanation of the practices to form a framework for future research work. Unlike the outcomes from phenomenology, the ones for grounded theory are excerpts from the collected data and thus cannot be generalized as being in the perspective of the individuals who experienced the phenomenon (Oktay, 2012). Case Study The case study approach involves the study of a particular issue through one or more case studies within a confined system, for instance, a given setting or line of study. Typically, case study research can be described as a qualitative approach whereby the researcher explores a restricted system for this situation a case or cases through a comprehensive and in-depth collection of data involving multiple data systems (Yin, 2012). The approach is very popular among scientists and researchers given its wide application in various fields over the years that has proved efficient in analyzing situations. Some of the standard disciplines where case study approach is viable include; law (case laws), medicine (case analysis of medical problems), psychology (Freud) and political science (case reports). All these disciplines involve an extensive elaboration of a particular situation that is unique and coming up with ideas that are binding (Yin, 2012). The purpose of this research is to make an in-depth elaboration of the experiences of people with the aid of case studies. Since it involves direct interaction between the explorer and the subjects, direct observation and interviews is recommended to enhance the efficiency of the technique to deliver desired results. Data analysis in this approach is more comprehensive since it entails synthesis of the experience obtained from the interaction with the subjects and trying to come up with any meaningful trend of pattern in the situations under study. The outcomes from this research design will include an in-depth description of the experiences of the individuals involved in the case study with similarities between the subjects being formulated to create trends and patterns that are useful to predict future behaviors (Merriam and Merriam, 2009). Case studies can be used for any kind of research as long as it is fashioned in a manner that will present a specific problem affecting a certain group of people. They are normally bounded or restricted in nature in the sense that they can only be used for a particular sample size that has been selected to fit within the case. The research question to be solved by a case study needs to be specific in nature in the sense that it outlines the problem who it affects at what particular time; for example, how the world financial crunch affected the money market in Dubai. In case studies the methods used to collect data are not important since numerous techniques can be employed to ensure validity of the assertions made in the case. Some of the common methods of data collection utilized include; observation, interviewing, video recording and document collection. Data analysis is the crucial stage for this research design. It involves numerous phases that verify the data collected to deliberately check for any form of ambiguity or discrepancies. The data is then organized in form of arrays then matrices are developed to categorize the data. Next flow charts are created and tabulation of how the frequency of events unfolds is designed. The data is then cross checked with other cases to develop any form of correlation or pattern and finally the report for the research is prepared (Merriam and Merriam, 2009). It is prudent to note that qualitative research design has a number of techniques that can be utilized based on the nature of the study to be undertaken. These approaches though all aimed for a general purpose of conducting qualitative research, they tend to exhibit a number of differences in their processes; for instance, phenomenology is concern about analyzing the experiences of the subjects but grounded theory goes a mile further to develop a general explanation for the experiences that the subjects undergo (Yin, 2012). References Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications. Lewis, M., & Staehler, T. (2010). Phenomenology: An Introduction. London: Continuum. Merriam, S. B., & Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Oktay, J. S. (2012). Grounded theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Urquhart, C. (2010). Understanding and using grounded theory. Place of publication not identified: Sage Publications. Yin, R. K. (2012). Applications of the case study research. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE. Read More