Data Collection Method And Analysis Essay Example

What forms of qualitative data analysis are available and what are their purposes?

The forms include case study, phenomenological study, ethnographic study, grounded theory study, and content analysis study. Phenomenological study is a study that attempts to comprehend people`s perspectives, perception and perception of a particular phenomenon. Focus on the individual’s perception helps answer the question of the participant’s experience. Case study this method involves an in-depth exploration of an event, a program, an activity or individuals. The purpose of the study is to understand a little know situation.
Ethnographic studies a whole cultural group (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001). It aims at identifying beliefs, social structures, norms, and other factors. The grounded theory study involves a researcher's attempt to derive a theoretical process, or interaction grounded based on the perception of an individual (Creswell, 2003). The content analysis study is the systematic examination of the details of a particular body of materials in order to identify themes, biases, or patterns. The aim of the method is to determine certain characteristics of human interaction.

What studies have used the different methods of data analysis and what are their flaws?

Data analysis is common in the social sciences. The disadvantages of the methods of data analysis include time consumption, different results and intense. Methods such as Ethnography are time-consuming. They require the researcher to observe the individuals for long. A lot of energy is used in reviewing the data, making the method intense (Little, 2013).
Different methods of analysis give different analytical results. For example, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics give different results. Using different methods of analysis makes it difficult to make predictions that can be used to generalize the population under study.

What are the different qualitative research designs?

The common qualitative designs include grounded theory, ethnography, narrative inquiry, and phenomenology. The purpose of phenomenological research is the study of the structure of subjective experience of an individual. It aims at interpreting the lived experience. Grounded theory is a research methodology that analyzes data to come up with a theory. It is different from other research methods, as it does not use an existing theoretical framework.
Ethnography is the study of cultural groups (Schensul & Daine, 1999). This field of study attempts to explain systems of meaning and knowledge in the lives of ethnic groups. Narrative inquiry uses field texts such as autobiography, field notes, interviews, life experience, stories as items of analysis to understand and research how people create meaning in their lives.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using the different qualitative research designs and when are they appropriate?

The advantage of using different qualitative research designs is the method is useful when answering a complex subject. A simple hypothesis cannot fully explain some questions; this is where qualitative research design becomes useful. Qualitative research methods are easier to plan and develop and at the same time, it is a cost effective way of carrying out research. Qualitative data analysis is detailed; the advantage that can be used to overcome the limitations of other research methods.
Not all methods are appropriate for all situations or phenomenon under study. For example, case study research is only used to research on past events and cannot be used to study current events. Another disadvantage of using different research designs is the results yield in one method may not be a replica of another method, and they're difficult in the generalization of the study (Sanders, 2010).

References

Creswell, J. (2003). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Leedy, P., & Ormrod, J. (2013). Practical research. Boston: Pearson.
Little, T. (2013). The Oxford handbook of quantitative methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sanders, L. (2010). Discovering research methods in psychology. Malden [u.a.]: BPS, Blackwell.
Schensul, S., Schensul, J., & LeCompte, M. (1999). Essential ethnographic methods. Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira Press.