Qualitative Research Packetktenglish102.weebly.com/.../qualitative_research_packet.pdf · 2019. 11. 6. · English 102 Qualitative Assignment Packet K. Turner Steps-by-Step Guide

English 102 Qualitative Assignment Packet K. Turner

What Exactly Goes in a Qualitative Paper? For tips about writing the paper, see RoI pg. 229-31. For a sample template, see RoI pg. 234. Introduction

• This is not like a typical paper introduction. This is usually quite a bit longer. • Begin your paper by introducing the purpose for your study. What is your research question? Is

your question based on current scholarly or public debates? Why is your question important? How does your study enter a conversation that is already present in the scholarly literature?

• This is where you will be incorporating secondary source work. Literature Review

• Sometimes you will see these sections split between “Introduction” and “Literature Review.” • A literature review is an overview of relevant research in the field. You may add the extra

subheading and break your intro down if this will help you focus your research. • This would be a useful place to start discussing background information your audience might

need to know. • If you want to use headings within your larger sections, use Arial font, and italicize the heading.

Methods Participants Describe the qualifications for being a participant and how you recruited participants. Explain how and why you chose the participants Procedures Explain the way in which you retrieved data – interview sessions? Length of interview? Procedures for discussion? Examples of questions you asked? Data Analysis Data analysis is the process of looking for findings. This is where you can explain how you coded, what you coded for, and how you went about analyzing your data. Results/Findings

• This section is where you report what you have found as a result of your study. • Summarize the answers you got – your evidence-based findings – noting any important trends

and groupings. • Refer to actual data to support your presentation. • Refrain from adding personal comments or opinions in this section. Instead, think of it as an

index-like entry of what you’ve found to be important as a result of your study. Give specific examples/quotations/concerns from the participants.

• See pg. 235 in RoI for an example. Discussion

• In this section, you analyze your results. • Here, you can present some sort of stance based on the results of your study, seen in the context

of the larger scholarly or public conversation your research was responding to. Here, you return again to the question that you’ve introduced at the beginning—based on what you’ve found, have you gotten any closer to an answer to your question? Do your results add to the larger research conversation about this question? If so, how so? If not, why not?


• Based upon your data, what conclusions can you make about different understanding and knowledge regarding issues plaguing the NFL?

Conclusion

• This last section is where you can state what your findings mean to the future of your area of study.

• How might future scholars, including yourself, further investigate what you’ve found to be important in your own study? This section should be 1-2 paragraphs long.

Works Cited

• Use Purdue Owl and RoI to properly cite in MLA. • Also see sample student papers in Appendix B of RoI, pg. 423

Appendix A

• Include your interview protocols, your informed consent form for interviews (see sample, RoI p. 424) and your transcripts of interviews.


Steps-by-Step Guide for Completing the Qualitative Assignment Step 1: Create a Research Plan

• Setting a Timetable: As mentioned in class, keeping to a schedule is key for doing well in this unit. I have given you several suggested dates, along with actual deadlines for specific parts of the project.

• Setting a Focus: Making sure you have a set focus is very important in Qualitative Research. You should continually refer to your research question throughout the initial, research, and conclusion stages of this process to ensure that you are staying on track. These projects are easy to deviate from, especially when you are in charge of gathering and interpreting your personal research--as opposed to research that has been done by others and has a clear, preset focus.

Step2: Collect Your data

• Define Your Research Question: Begin with the secondary research you have already conducted and continue narrowing down your area of interest. Avoid biased or leading research questions. See RoI pg. 219 for more.

• Write Interview Questions: You will begin your assignment sequence by generating 10-15 solid

interview questions. Please know that you probably will not be able to ask all of these questions. I will lecture about how to formulate questions, you will workshop questions with one another, and I will review the questions.

• Design an interview protocol and a consent form. I have provided samples for you in this packet,

and we will come up with examples in class.

• Conduct Your Interviews: You will conduct 20 minutes interviews to gather information from 5 different people about their thoughts about one of the umbrella topics we’ve been discussing this semester (I.e. labor issues, women’s issues, concussions): what do they know, when/where did they learn it, what are their attitudes about it? I will also lecture about how to conduct interviews. See RoI pg. 244 for hints and tips.

Step 3: Transcribe Your Data

• Keep both an audio and written record of your data.

• Following examples I will provide for you in class, you will be responsible for transcribing one interview in full.

Step 4: Code Your Data

• Coding is a process of combing through your data with a fine-tooth comb for any emerging themes and ideas. Coding makes it easier for you to search your own research.

• See pg. 257 in RoI for tips about coding. Step 5: Analyze/Interpret Your Data

• Develop conclusions from your information. These conclusions will provide answers to your research question.

• See pp. 245 in RoI for helpful reminders about how to analyze data.


Step 6: Present Your Findings • You will then write a qualitative research paper, which will follow the sample paper on RoI pg.

401. • Your essay will include the sections 1-7 described above.


Developing a Research Question Qualitative Research is answers specific questions: All from your Rhetoric of Inquiry, pg. 213

- Why people behave the way they do - How opinions are formed - How people are affected by the events that go on around them - How and why cultures have developed the way they have - The differences between social groups

This unit, you will either observe students, or speak with them directly about a specific research topic related to the Fashion Industry. A good framework for your research question is the following:

How do students at the University of Tennessee think/feel/discuss conversation/debate XX? While you will probably come up with a more focused group, such as “how do engineers talk about…” or “how do women in sororities feel about…”, etc., this is a good starting point. Draft a Few Research Questions of Your Own 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.


Writing Effective Interview Questions If you are conducting primary research using surveys or interviews, one of the most important things to focus on is creating good questions. ü Questions should be simple. Do not ask more than one question at a time.

ü The best questions are those which elicit the longest answers from the respondent. Do not ask

questions that can be answered with one word.

ü Don’t ask questions that require your respondents to do your analysis for you. This is YOUR job. Likewise, do not ask for hearsay or opinions on behalf of the group they are a part of “What do people around here think of x?” You rarely get anything interesting.

ü Don’t be afraid to ask embarrassing questions. If you don’t ask, they won’t tell. Guidelines for Developing Interview Questions ü Write down the larger research questions of the study. Outline the broad areas of knowledge that are

relevant to answering these questions.

ü Develop questions within each of these major areas, shaping them to fit particular kinds of respondents. The goal here is to tap into their experiences and expertise.

ü Adjust the language of the interview according to the respondent (child, professional, etc.). ü Take care to word questions so that respondents are motivated to answer as completely and honestly

as possible. ü Ask “how” questions rather than “why” questions to get stories of process rather than acceptable

“accounts” of behavior. “How did you come to join this group . . .?” ü Develop probes that will elicit more detailed and elaborate responses to key questions. The more

detail, the better! Things to Avoid ü Biased questions Biased questions are questions that encourage your participants to respond to the question in a certain way. They may contain biased terminology or are worded in a biased way.

Biased question: Don't you agree that campus parking is a problem? Revised question: Is parking on campus a problem?

ü Questions that assume what they ask These questions are a type of biased question and lead your participants to agree or respond in a certain way.

Biased question: There are many people who believe that campus parking is a problem. Are you one of them?

Revised question: Do you agree or disagree that campus parking is a problem?


ü Double-barreled questions A double-barreled question is a one that has more than one question embedded within it. Participants may answer one but not both, or may disagree with part or all of the question.

Double-barreled question: Do you agree that campus parking is a problem and that the administration should be working diligently on a solution?

Revised question: Is campus parking a problem? (If the participant responds yes): Should the administration be responsible for solving this problem?

ü Confusing or wordy questions Make sure your questions are not confusing or wordy. Confusing questions will only lead to confused participants, which leads to unreliable answers.

Confusing questions: What do you think about parking? (This is confusing because the question isn't clear about what it is asking--parking in general? The person's ability to park the car? Parking on campus?) Do you believe that the parking situation on campus is problematic or difficult because of the lack of spaces and the walking distances or do you believe that the parking situation on campus is ok? (This question is both very wordy and leads the participant.)

Revised question: What is your opinion of the parking situation on campus? ü Questions that do not relate to what you want to learn Be sure that your questions directly relate to what it is you are studying. A good way to do this is to ask someone else to read your questions or even test your survey out on a few people and see if the responses fit what you are looking for.

Unrelated questions: Have you ever encountered problems in the parking garage on campus? Do you like or dislike the bus system?



Sample Interview Protocol Form

Your Project Title: Date ___________________________ Time ___________________________ Location ________________________ Interviewer ______________________ Interviewee ______________________ Consent form signed? ____ Notes to interviewee:

Thank you for your participation. I believe your input will be valuable to this research and in helping grow all of our professional practice. Confidentiality of responses is guaranteed. The approximate length of interview: xxx minutes; there are xxx major questions. I may also ask follow up questions for clarification. The purpose of my is research xxx

1. Question #1 Follow up questions: Your Notes on Interviewee Response: 2. Question #2: Follow up questions:


Your Notes on Interviewee Response: 3. Question #3: Follow up questions: Your Notes on Interviewee Response: 4. Question #4: Follow up questions:


Your Notes on Interviewee Response: 5. Question #5: Follow up questions: Your Notes on Interviewee Response: Reflection by Interviewer

• Closure o Thank you to interviewee o reassure confidentiality o ask permission to follow-up



How to Conduct an Interview ü Begin the interview with a “warm-up” question—something that the respondent can answer easily

and at some length (though not too long). It doesn’t have to pertain directly to what you are trying to find out (although it might), but this initial rapport-building will put you more at ease with one another and thus will make the rest of the interview flow more smoothly.

ü Think about the logical flow of the interview. What topics should come first? What follows more or

less “naturally”? This may take some adjustment after several interviews. ü Difficult or potentially embarrassing questions should be asked toward the end of the interview, when

rapport has been established. ü The last question should provide some closure for the interview, and leave the respondent feeling

empowered, listened to, or otherwise glad that they talked to you.

ü See the Duke Initiative on Survey Methodology Tipsheet on the next page for more about how to conduct an interview.









Analyzing Your Data: Coding Interviews (a quick-and-dirty guide to data analysis) Initial Coding Read through your interview transcriptions several times to get a general sense of your data. Then, take a pen or highlighter and mark places that are significant to your topic. At this point, any relevant response is worth marking, even if it is not directly linked to your intended focus or expectations. That is how new insights might emerge from the data. Categorizing Data Once you’ve chosen significant instances in the interview, you’ll need to develop categories based on your research question. If you are measuring the effect of rule changes on football fans, for instance, you might categorize data broadly based on positive or negative responses. From these broad categories, you might narrow your code to include Player Health (positive/negative), Fan Enjoyment (positive/negative), or Safety Gear Manufacturing (positive/negative). At this point, your code will be largely descriptive, and may involve many categories. Continue to add categories as you come across relevant information in each transcript; you can refine your code later. Developing Labels for Codes For any code, the most important features is clarity. The whole point of a code is to make data clear and accessible to readers, as well as easier for researchers to evaluate. One way to increase the clarity of labels is to use the words of participant responses to develop the labels. When writing up your research results, you should always include a thorough description of the labels you’ve chosen, the criteria used for each category, and how your code is helpful to answering your research question. This will likely involve grouping some of your categories under a single label. Second-level Coding Once you have developed labels, you will need to go back through your list of categories to group your data thematically. Moving beyond descriptive labels is important to making your data clearly applicable to your research question. At this point, you will need to identify common themes across individual participants to draw conclusions. You can combine categories which are closely related or similar under a broader, thematic label, and even cut some categories which are no longer relevant or which are limited to a single participant. Final Coding Finally, you will need to re-read your transcripts to apply your new, refined coding scheme to the data. In some studies, you will need to go through this process more than once.






Documents

Qualitative Research Packetktenglish102.weebly.com/.../qualitative_research_packet.pdf · 2019. 11. 6. · English 102 Qualitative Assignment Packet K. Turner Steps-by-Step Guide