Five Approaches and Theory
Creswell (2013) notes that qualitative research methods typically aid in researching topics where little is known about a phenomenon. Tavallaei and Talib (2010) further note that qualitative approaches are utilized “when the researcher’s variables are unclear and unknown and when a relevant theory base is missing in any sense” (p. 571). This suggests that qualitative research is less focused on testing hypothesis and relationships between variables, but the description, analysis, and interpretation of a given phenomenon (Creswell, 2013; Tavallaei & Talib, 2010). As it relates to theory, no clear consensus and agreement exists “regarding the role and significance of theory” (Creswell, 2013; Tavallaei & Talib, 2010, p. 571).
In an effort to shed some light on the role of theory in qualitative research, the following assignment will briefly discuss theory and its uses. It will further compare and contrast the role of theory within the five qualitative approaches. Finally, the assignment will conclude with a discussion regarding the use and role of theory in the final assignment, and considerations to keep in mind (Walden University, 2013).
The Role and Use of Theory
Theory in qualitative research is not as clearly defined as in quantitative research methods. It does not serve a specific, predetermined, or prescribed role, nor does it fulfill the same functions in each approach. In contrast to quantitative approaches, the basis and nature of each research method varies, and so does the use and function of theory within each (Creswell, 2010). Despite the differences in theory applications, Tavallaei and Talib (2010) note “three distinct understandings about the role of theory…: (a) Theory relates to the res...
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Tavallaei, M., & Talib, M. (2010). A General Perspective on Role of Theory in Qualitative Research. Journal Of International Social Research, 3(11), 570-577.
Thematic analysis is espoused to be the foundational approach to qualitative analysis and methods (Saunders et al., 2016 as stated in Braun and Clarke, 2006: 78) and it is a useful method used to identify and analyse the order and patterns of qualitative data (Attride-Stirling, 2001). Qualitative research method depicts the correlation that exists between data and events, creating the pictorial representation of what one thinks a given data says (Saunders et al., 2016). They also opined that, qualitative data analysis is cogent, interactive and iterative. Also, Joana and Jill (2011) and Saunders et al (2016) postulate that, qualitative research brings meanings from words and images as opposed to numbers. However, despite its robustness and rigour of its application, it is skewed more to the interpretivist ideologies since researchers draw conclusion from participants and the hypothesis being forecasted (Joana and Jill, 2011; Saunders et al., 2016).
Mack, N., Woodsong, C., Macqueen, K., Guest, G., & Namey, E. (2005). Qualitative research methods a data collector's field guide. Research Triangle Park, N.C.: Family Health International.
There are two types of research that can be conducted in research studies, these are qualitative and quantitative (Newman, 2011). Qualitative research is a process that uses detailed oriented methodology that tries to achieve a profound knowledge or understanding of specific incident and circumstance, wh...
Qualitative and quantitative methods allow researchers to investigate, explore and inquire the nature of the phenomenon being studied. It is important that the researcher develops a clear understanding of the problem and design a plan to investigate it (Cresswell, 1998, para. 1). There are a variety of research methods; nevertheless, it is important to consider which research method is appropriate for the study. Qualitative research focuses on human experiences while quantitative research relies on numbers, measurements, and testing. Nevertheless, qualitative and quantitative methods use similar approaches to conduct research and collect data. For example, observations and interviews are approaches used in both research designs; however, the approaches are used and viewed otherwise. This will be discussed later in the paper.
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Qualitative research is an approach that attempts to situate an activity that locates the observer in the world by providing the study to occur in their natural setting and by attempting to make sense of, or interpret information (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005). A characteristic of qualitative research is to use a variety of empirical materials such as personal experience, interviews, and questionnaires. It is imperative to understand the task at hand and how to fully carry out the study when using a qualitative research approach in order to find out the information needed. One view of qualitative research is it involves examining individual’s experiences and documenting those experiences in detail (Jones, 2011). By documenting these observations the researcher is ensuring validity in his or her data and giving the correct creditability to those who participated in the study.
This will be a discussion of qualitative research. It will define qualitative research, as well as look at the similarities and differences in the quantitative and qualitative research paradigms. Furthermore, this discussion will look into qualitative case study research and phenomenological research, with further contemplation of purposes, methods, and limitations for these two methods.
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focused on the key qualitative research methods. For each article review, a brief description, guided by Myers (2013), and a critique, guided Pratt (2009), is provided. A summary of the five articles identifying the research method, data collection technique, data analysis approach and critique is provided in Table 1. The narrative review of each article coupled with figures and tables to organize and visualize thoughts (Pratt, 2009) follows the summary table.
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Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches, 3rd Edition. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.