Using what you have learned about your topic from your literature search, you are working towards formulating a research purpose and question. Note that in the Learning Resources for this week, the language of qualitative research is incorporated into how the research purpose and question is formulated. Here are some basic dos and donts.

Quantitative (Donts)

Qualitative (Dos)

Predict

Examine differences, effects, or impact

Correlate

Analyze

Explore

Understand

Describe

Variables

Indicators

Measures

Experience

Meaning

Essence

Narrative

Hypotheses

Broad,   open-ended questions

For example, in the ongoing scenario for each of the weeks of this course, the qualitative research question is formulated based on:

DO: The purpose of this study is to understand the narratives of childcare and support in families in impoverished communities.

DO: What is the meaning of a well-behaved child to early childhood caregivers in impoverished neighborhoods?

While as in this example, the research question is formulated based on quantitative information

DONT: The purpose of this study is to examine the demographic and family factors that predict the use of childcare services in impoverished communities.

DONT: What are the differences in early childhood social skill acquisition between children that do receive childcare services and those that do not?

For this Discussion, you will examine qualitative research as it relates to qualitative design considerations.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Review the Learning Resources and the Fundamentals of Qualitative Research Methods: Developing a Qualitative Research Question video and consider the basic guidelines for qualitative research design.

Use the Course Guide and Assignment Help found in this weeks Learning Resources and search for a qualitative research article. (Note: This article should be the research article you are using for your Major Assignment 1.)

Review the qualitative research article you found and identify each of the components of the research design and consider what is present and what is missing.

Identify what the authors did to document positionality, reflexivity, and bias.

By Day 4

Transform your notes from your preparation work into three paragraphs and post the following:

A brief statement of the purpose and primary research question the article addresses

An assessment of how thoroughly the research design was presented, including what was missing

An assessment of the extent of the researchers presentation of positionality, reflexivity, and bias 

Be sure to support your main post and response post with reference to the weeks Learning Resources and other scholarly evidence in APA style.

Good research is driven by the synthesis of ones passion or interest with a topic that has been under-studied in the professional literature. Out of that synthesis emerges a gapan area in need of further study that is consistent with your intereststhat defines the research problem. Clarifying the research problem takes time, effort, and thought. 

Once you have developed your research problem, the research purpose and research question become self-evident.

What also becomes evident is your position with respect to the topic, the question, and what you hope to find. Qualitative research recognizes that the research space is shaped by both the participants and the researcher.

the identities of both researcher and participants have the potential to impact the research process. Identities come into play via our perceptions, not only of others, but of the ways in which we expect others will perceive us. Our own biases shape the research process, serving as checkpoints along the way. Through recognition of our biases, we presume to gain insights into how we might approach a research setting, members of particular groups, and how we might seek to engage with participants (Bourke, 2014, p. 1). 

For this Discussion, you will examine a research question based on the purpose for inquiry, a rationale for the study, and issues of positionality.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Consider the research topic you are developing for your Major Assignment 1.

Review Chapter 3 of the Ravitch and Carl text and use Table 3.1, page 69 to help you create a rationale using the questions as your guide.

Review Chapter 3 of the Ravitch and Carl text and specifically use pages 7076 to create a positionality memo to reflect on your relationship to the topic.

Review the Fundamentals of Qualitative Research Methods: Developing a Qualitative Research Question media program as a guideline to help you create a research question.

By Day 3

Transform your notes from your preparation work into four paragraphs and briefly explain in your post the following:

1. The research purpose of your inquiry

2. The rationale

3. Issues of positionality

4. The research question

Be sure to support your main post and response post with reference to the weeks Learning Resources and other scholarly evidence in APA style.

Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2016). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Chapter 3, Critical Qualitative Research Design (pp. 8589) (previously read in Week 2)

Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2012). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Chapter 3, Qualitative Data-Gathering Methods and Style (pp. 2539)

Chapter 4, Designing Research for the Responsive Interviewing Model (pp. 4257)