Justification for Mixed Methods Research Essay

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Roles of Theory in Qualitative Research & Application

Qualitative Research

Write a two page Journal entry on how well you are understanding the roles of theory in qualitative research and how this applies to your Final Project and to your Dissertation.

Thinking About Qualitative Research Theory. Qualitative research approaches are grounded in theoretical frameworks that make certain assumptions about the world, about how qualitative research is best conducted, and about the type of research questions and solutions are acceptable for the research approach, and about the criteria that appropriate for trustworthiness (which is the equivalent proof in quantitative research approaches). When researchers take a qualitative approach, they consider the world to be socially constructed by people's individual perceptions. Qualitative researchers depend on respondents' accounts to provide explanations for observed behaviors and shared thoughts. The qualitative research approach does not begin with a hypothesis to be proven or disproved -- a step that implies the researcher has a definitive idea about the answers to the research questions. Some qualitative research proponents use as a metaphor for a qualitative researcher the idea of a tourist, who approaches new information without preconceived explanations.

Qualitative research theories include: Ethnographic, grounded, interpretive, naturalistic, subjective, and phenomenological. An ethnographic approach has its origins in anthropology in the culture of a society is the unit of analysis. Ethnographic research convention was originally identified with a discrete study of one particular ethnicity in a certain geographical location. The research tradition has been extended to apply to any particular group of people, including organizations and networks. The most well-known form of ethnographic research is participant observation in field research (Dwyer & Buckle, 2009). In participant observation, the ethnographic researcher takes a total emersion approach, becoming an active participant, recording field notes which are coded and then analyzed for emerging themes.

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Considering Qualitative Theory for My Research. As I have studied the various approaches to research, I have come to a point where I believe a multiple methods approach would provide a deeper level of analysis about my topic: human trafficking rates. The absolute numbers of human trafficking by gender are of interest to psychologists, social workers, healthcare providers, criminal justice systems, and agencies that address international relations. I have been considering that for each number -- for each tick mark tabulating a victim of human trafficking -- there is a human story that can inform the fight against human trafficking. Using a mixed method approach, I will still be able to investigate the rates of human trafficking through quantitative procedures, while delving into the perceptions and accounts of people who have been victimized and rescued by using qualitative approaches.

The qualitative approach that I believe is most applicable to my research is grounded theory. Developed by Glaser and Strauss in the 1960s, grounded theory is a qualitative research method that develops theory that is rooted (grounded) in observation. Grounded theory is an iterative process that builds theory over time, and relies on data collection from multiple sources. At the beginning of the process, generative questions are raised that serve only to guide the research. The questions are not intended to constrain the research process in any way. As data is collected, the researcher begins to identify core concepts related to theory development. The researcher proceeds to compare the data and theoretical core concepts in order to identify connections, which are commonly referred to as themes. As the data collection moves forward, the researcher spends time summarizing and verifying the data. This may take the form of member checks -- during which respondents….....

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