Unit 7 Assignment 1: Qualitative Designs

In this paper, the definition and description of what a case study is, what are some reasons for using a case study, what are some disadvantages and advantages of this approach? Also included in this paper I will talk about what are some of the ways a researcher can acquire information that can is used for a case study. A case study can be defined as a descriptive account of the behavior, history, and other relevant factors concerning a particular individual (Cozby, Bates, 2012).

Power point slide Qualitative research is a difficult term to define…. Nevertheless, it is important to be familiar with some definitions in the field. The definition provided by Creswell 2009 is enlightening because it incorporates ……….. most important part of definition for me were reports detailed views of informants and natural setting.

Compare and contrast the following qualitative research methods: case study, phenomenological, and grounded theory. Synthesize the findings and determine which is best suited to a study on your potential dissertation topic. Analyze the issues associated with sample selection, validity, and bias in such a study.

“Case studies are stories. It presents a realistic, complex, and contextually rich situations and often involve a dilemma, conflict, or problem that one or more of the characters in the case must negotiate”,

A qualitative methodological approach was the obvious choice in that it allows for the collection and interpretation of stories, narratives, interviews and other forms of non-quantifiable data. A qualitative approach also does not demand or strive for detached objectivity of the researcher but instead encourages the disclosure of researcher bias and the engagement of the researcher with the research and subjects, often in the role of participant-observer (Dade, Tartakov, Hargrave, & Leigh,

A case study is a simple tool researchers can use to gather data.  Within the textbook, a case study is described as a detailed analysis of a selected individual over a span of time (Newman, 2011, sec. 3.2).  Case studies can be quite useful because they are simple, easy to conduct, and require less involvement to achieve a result.  Oftentimes, the researcher will observe an individual and record data over a specific amount of time.

Researchers who uses qualitative study for addressing a problem they are interested in are most often confronted with enormous background knowledge they could use to make their research more successful. (Flick, 2007)

This qualitative study is based on the Grounded Theory methodology, a design of inquiry from a sociological perspective in which a researcher derives a general abstract theory of a process or interaction grounded in the views of participants in a study to analyze the data. This theory has two unique concepts: the constant comparison of data with emerging categories and a theoretical sampling of different groups to maximize the similarities and differences of information (Creswell, 2009, p. 13). The basic concept of this research method is to choose research participants who have lived through the phenomenon that you want to study. This meant that participants are experts of the phenomenon that the researcher sought to understand (Auerbach and Silverstein, 2003). These techniques involve a): filtering texts, which means explicitly stating your research concerns and theoretical concerns and selecting the relevant text from your interviews, which is done by reading through the transcripts one-by-one with step one in mind and highlighting relevant codes; b): listening to the transcripts for relevant information, which involves recording repeating ideas by grouping together related passages of your

For Capella University’s Advanced Qualitative Research Methods in Public Service course students learned about three research designs; phenomenology, ethnography, and case study. Phenomenology research design is based on philosophical approaches studying a signal phenomenon several individuals has experience (Creswell, p. 14, 2014). Data is normally collected through participant interviews (2014). Ethnography research design studies patterns of behaviors within an identified group/culture (2014). Ethnography has been described as the most time consuming of the three research designs. It requires a time frame that is flexible in order to study the group within its own environment (2014). The last of the three designs is case study research design. Case study involves collecting data from a sample of a larger group of similar background within a designated time frame (Baskarada, 2014). The results obtained from the sample group, theoretically represents a larger group of similar background (2014).

Case study research can be defined as a pragmatic method that works to understand the meaning of lived experiences, events, and interactions for people in particular situations through real-life context (Morese & Richards, 2003). The case study approach can be used for the in-depth investigation of an issue or life event. Case studies can uncover beliefs, attitudes and perspectives of those involved. In this case both teachers and students. The ultimate goal of a case study is to illustrate the complexities

In my research, I am going to use the qualitative method design. This method will allow me to conduct my study by means of interviews, observations, field investigations, and questionnaires. Research is something you agree to explore and find responses. Research question is the initial step that activate the research. Connelly (2015) asserted that a research question emphasizes on the topic that is designed for study, who were under study, and what the researcher intended to learn about them. Research question must be answered by agreeing and deciding the appropriate way to respond to questions. Collection of information that satisfy the research is necessary; finally findings must be presented to others.

Training for qualitative research is also a concern, especially when working in an environment where quantitative research is the norm and where qualitative research is not understood or appreciated. A lack of training in or understanding of qualitative methodologies leads to other issues. One is applying quantitative methods in analysis of qualitative analysis, and another is approaching qualitative research with a quantitative mind set (Skinner, Tagg, & Holloway, 2000).

When utilizing a qualitative approach, the task becomes one of determining the qualitative method to be used. Additionally, Stake (2010) used purpose, research design, and methodical data techniques as a way of classifying types of qualitative research. Similarly, Cresswell & Cresswell (2007) spoke of five practices of qualitative research. These five practices consist of biography, phenomenological study, grounded theory study, ethnography, and case study. This researcher chose a phenomenological study for this research project.

Case study research bring out the insight of the complex problems and enhance understanding, knowledge and experience that is already studied though previous research. Case study focus on the detailed contextual analysis of a limited number of events or relationships between the events. Case study research have the around for years and researchers have used the technique across many disciplines for different problems. Across all the domains, the social scientist have made maximum use of the case study method and benefited maximum from the qualitative research method, to examine real life problems and provide basis for the ideas and extension of existing methods. Researches have defined case study as an empirical method

Qualitative research is the technique that is used as a part of exploratory research and to derive the independent variables. There are different methods through which we can conduct the qualitative research. As a part of this study we have adopted the following methods: