Starting the Final Project: A Qualitative Research Plan In this Application, you will begin to work on your Qualitative Research Plan, which is your Final Project for this course and will be due in Week 11. You will start by determining the research problem, purpose, and questions for your research plan. To prepare for this Application: Review the following readings for this week: o Chapter 6 in Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among the Five Approaches o Chapter 4 in Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach o Pages 2528 of Chapter 2 in Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook o "Final Project: Developing a Qualitative Research Plan" handout Formulate a research problem, purpose, and questions for the Final Project for this course. How would you defend your choices? The QUESTION: QUESTION: In a 1- to 2-page paper, formulate a research problem, purpose, and questions for the Final Project for this course and defend your choices. ______________________________________________________________________ Week 1: Moving Beyond Five Qualitative Approaches Introduction As you have learned in Qualitative Reasoning and Analysis, qualitative research begins most often with a research question. At this point, you probably have an area of interest which will evolve into a formal research question that develops into a proposal. Throughout this course, you will be reviewing basic qualitative techniques and learning more advanced techniques as you build toward the Final Course Project that is due in Week 11, a research proposal which you can then use as the basis for a qualitative dissertation. This week, you will focus on defining the research problem. Learning Outcomes By the end of this week, you will be able to: Analyze and evaluate qualitative research approaches Propose a research problem, purpose, and question(s) appropriate for investigation with a qualitative approach Deconstruct the evolution of a qualitative dissertation topic ______________________________________________________________________ Required Resources This page contains the Learning Resources for this week. Be sure to scroll down the page to see all of this week's assigned Learning Resources. To access select media resources, please use the media player below. Course Text: Maxwell, J. A. (2005). Applied Social Research Methods Series: Vol. 41. Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. o Chapter 1, "A Model for Qualitative Research Design" o Chapter 2, "Goals: Why Are You Doing This Study?" o Chapter 4, "Research Questions: What Do You Want to Understand?" Chapter 1 gives an introduction and provides a model for qualitative research design. Chapter 2 explains the personal, practical, and intellectual goals that qualitative research can help you achieve. Chapter 4 describes the function of research questions and other kinds of questions, including generic, particularistic, instrumentalist, realist, variance, and process questions. Course Text: Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J.(2014). Qualitative data analysis: A Methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. o Chapter 1, "Introduction 3-16" o Chapter 2, "Research Design and Management," pp. 252 8 Chapter 1 provides an overview of qualitative research, including varieties and recurring features of qualitative research, and describes three approaches to analyzing qualitative data. The excerpt from Chapter 2 outlines the process of formulating research questions. Course Text: Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. o Chapter 4, "Five Qualitative Approaches to Inquiry" o Chapter 6, "Introducing and Focusing the Study" In Chapter 4, you will learn about and compare the five qualitative approaches to inquiry: narrative research, phenomenological research, grounded theory research, ethnographic research, and case study research. In Chapter 6, you will learn how to introduce and focus your research study by stating the research problem, the purpose statement, and the research questions. Course Text: Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. o Chapter 2, "Strategic Themes in Qualitative Inquiry" This chapter describes several design strategies and analysis strategies in qualitative inquiry. Handouts o Final Project: Developing a Qualitative Research Plan (Word document) This handout will guide you in completing your Final Project for this course, in which you will develop a qualitative research plan. The Final Project is due in Week 11. Media Video: Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a). What to expect: Advice at the outset. Baltimore, MD: Author. Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 10 minutes. In this audio segment, graduates talk about how their thought processes evolved throughout the program and how they learned to self-critique. They explain what they did and how they learned to evaluate their work, their writing, and their thinking to become better researchers. To listen to this audio program, use the media player located at the top of this page. FINAL PROJECT HANDOUT: RSCH 8351: Advanced Qualitative Reasoning and Analysis Final Project: Developing a Qualitative Research Plan For the Final Project, students will develop a Qualitative Research Plan based on their selected Dissertation topic. Please note: This is not meant to be a full research plan in that you will not be constructing data collection instruments or generating data to use. The Final Project is meant to develop understanding about the relationships between research questions, research design, and data organization and analysis. For this Project, you will consider more the design and methodology of the qualitative research you propose. Some, but not all, course assignments lead into the Final Project. The Final Project should include the following: Title A. Opening statement (a clear statement demonstrating that the focus of the study is on a significant problem worthy of study) B. Background of the study a. Summary of the literature framing history of the project, using 10 articles related to the problem b. Gaps and/or deficiencies in prior research c. Importance of present study i. Why the study should be pursued ii. For whom is it important C. Problem statement (describes the need for increased understanding about the issue to be studied) D. Purpose of the study a. Research design (narrative, grounded theory, ethnography, case study, phenomenology) b. Intent (understand, describe, explore, develop, etc.) c. Central phenomenon of the study d. General definition of central phenomenon E. Research question(s) a. Central question(s) b. Subquestions (where applicable) F. Theoretical or conceptual framework a. Theoretical or conceptual basis and origin of or source for theory or describe concepts b. Where and how theory has been applied or concepts evidenced previously c. The major propositions or hypotheses of the theory, if used d. How the theory relates to the present study or state how the concepts are important to the present study and provide a lens for it; rationale for that theoretical expectation or conceptual lens G. Nature of the study a. Design i. Paradigm (qualitative) ii. Design (narrative, grounded theory, ethnography, case study, phenomenology) iii. Rationale for the design, with explanations why other likely choices would be less effective b. Methodology i. Participants ii. Site iii. Researchers role in data collection procedures iv. Sampling 1. Type of sampling 2. How the sample will be drawn 3. Sample size and why chosen in relation to population size v. Data collection procedures (interviews, focus groups, observations, etc.) vi. Data analysis and interpretation plan: indicate what analytical tools and procedures will be applied to each set of data collected c. Limitations i. Potential design and/or methodological weaknesses of the study ii. Explain how the weaknesses will be addressed iii. Threats to quality and how they will be potentially addressed in the study d. Ethical concerns i. Describe your proposed procedure for providing informed consent and any ethical concerns with which you may need to deal H. Significance of the study a. Practical contributions of the study b. For whom the study is important c. Implications for social change ______________________________________________________________ Research Toolkit In the following weeks, resources that you may find useful as reference will be listed here. Often the titles, such as the APA Manual, are tools you will come to know well for the remainder of your dissertation process. Also, consider any handout listed in the Required Resources as a helpful addition to your Research Toolkit. The Research Toolkit is not limited by what you find listed in this sectionkeep your own Research Toolkit that includes what you find here and resources you discover that are particularly helpful to you. Handouts o Walden Dissertation Rubric--Available from http://researchcenter.waldenu.edu/ The Dissertation Rubric is a Word document linked in the section for PhD Dissertation Process and Documents. o Walden Qualitative Dissertations This document directs you to dissertations in the Walden Library that use a variety of qualitative approaches and disciplines. o Welcome letter for the foundational Research Sequence This advanced research course is designed to help you achieve the 48 doctoral competencies listed in this document.

Starting the Final Project: A Qualitative Research Plan In this Application, you will begin to work on your Qualitative Research Plan, which is your Final Project for this course and will be due in Week 11. You will start by determining the research problem, purpose, and questions for your research plan. To prepare for this Application: Review the following readings for this week: o Chapter 6 in Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among the Five Approaches o Chapter 4 in Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach o Pages 2528 of Chapter 2 in Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook o "Final Project: Developing a Qualitative Research Plan" handout Formulate a research problem, purpose, and questions for the Final Project for this course. How would you defend your choices? The QUESTION: QUESTION: In a 1- to 2-page paper, formulate a research problem, purpose, and questions for the Final Project for this course and defend your choices. ______________________________________________________________________ Week 1: Moving Beyond Five Qualitative Approaches Introduction As you have learned in Qualitative Reasoning and Analysis, qualitative research begins most often with a research question. At this point, you probably have an area of interest which will evolve into a formal research question that develops into a proposal. Throughout this course, you will be reviewing basic qualitative techniques and learning more advanced techniques as you build toward the Final Course Project that is due in Week 11, a research proposal which you can then use as the basis for a qualitative dissertation. This week, you will focus on defining the research problem. Learning Outcomes By the end of this week, you will be able to: Analyze and evaluate qualitative research approaches Propose a research problem, purpose, and question(s) appropriate for investigation with a qualitative approach Deconstruct the evolution of a qualitative dissertation topic ______________________________________________________________________ Required Resources This page contains the Learning Resources for this week. Be sure to scroll down the page to see all of this week's assigned Learning Resources. To access select media resources, please use the media player below. Course Text: Maxwell, J. A. (2005). Applied Social Research Methods Series: Vol. 41. Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. o Chapter 1, "A Model for Qualitative Research Design" o Chapter 2, "Goals: Why Are You Doing This Study?" o Chapter 4, "Research Questions: What Do You Want to Understand?" Chapter 1 gives an introduction and provides a model for qualitative research design. Chapter 2 explains the personal, practical, and intellectual goals that qualitative research can help you achieve. Chapter 4 describes the function of research questions and other kinds of questions, including generic, particularistic, instrumentalist, realist, variance, and process questions. Course Text: Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J.(2014). Qualitative data analysis: A Methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. o Chapter 1, "Introduction 3-16" o Chapter 2, "Research Design and Management," pp. 252 8 Chapter 1 provides an overview of qualitative research, including varieties and recurring features of qualitative research, and describes three approaches to analyzing qualitative data. The excerpt from Chapter 2 outlines the process of formulating research questions. Course Text: Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. o Chapter 4, "Five Qualitative Approaches to Inquiry" o Chapter 6, "Introducing and Focusing the Study" In Chapter 4, you will learn about and compare the five qualitative approaches to inquiry: narrative research, phenomenological research, grounded theory research, ethnographic research, and case study research. In Chapter 6, you will learn how to introduce and focus your research study by stating the research problem, the purpose statement, and the research questions. Course Text: Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. o Chapter 2, "Strategic Themes in Qualitative Inquiry" This chapter describes several design strategies and analysis strategies in qualitative inquiry. Handouts o Final Project: Developing a Qualitative Research Plan (Word document) This handout will guide you in completing your Final Project for this course, in which you will develop a qualitative research plan. The Final Project is due in Week 11. Media Video: Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a). What to expect: Advice at the outset. Baltimore, MD: Author. Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 10 minutes. In this audio segment, graduates talk about how their thought processes evolved throughout the program and how they learned to self-critique. They explain what they did and how they learned to evaluate their work, their writing, and their thinking to become better researchers. To listen to this audio program, use the media player located at the top of this page. FINAL PROJECT HANDOUT: RSCH 8351: Advanced Qualitative Reasoning and Analysis Final Project: Developing a Qualitative Research Plan For the Final Project, students will develop a Qualitative Research Plan based on their selected Dissertation topic. Please note: This is not meant to be a full research plan in that you will not be constructing data collection instruments or generating data to use. The Final Project is meant to develop understanding about the relationships between research questions, research design, and data organization and analysis. For this Project, you will consider more the design and methodology of the qualitative research you propose. Some, but not all, course assignments lead into the Final Project. The Final Project should include the following: Title A. Opening statement (a clear statement demonstrating that the focus of the study is on a significant problem worthy of study) B. Background of the study a. Summary of the literature framing history of the project, using 10 articles related to the problem b. Gaps and/or deficiencies in prior research c. Importance of present study i. Why the study should be pursued ii. For whom is it important C. Problem statement (describes the need for increased understanding about the issue to be studied) D. Purpose of the study a. Research design (narrative, grounded theory, ethnography, case study, phenomenology) b. Intent (understand, describe, explore, develop, etc.) c. Central phenomenon of the study d. General definition of central phenomenon E. Research question(s) a. Central question(s) b. Subquestions (where applicable) F. Theoretical or conceptual framework a. Theoretical or conceptual basis and origin of or source for theory or describe concepts b. Where and how theory has been applied or concepts evidenced previously c. The major propositions or hypotheses of the theory, if used d. How the theory relates to the present study or state how the concepts are important to the present study and provide a lens for it; rationale for that theoretical expectation or conceptual lens G. Nature of the study a. Design i. Paradigm (qualitative) ii. Design (narrative, grounded theory, ethnography, case study, phenomenology) iii. Rationale for the design, with explanations why other likely choices would be less effective b. Methodology i. Participants ii. Site iii. Researchers role in data collection procedures iv. Sampling 1. Type of sampling 2. How the sample will be drawn 3. Sample size and why chosen in relation to population size v. Data collection procedures (interviews, focus groups, observations, etc.) vi. Data analysis and interpretation plan: indicate what analytical tools and procedures will be applied to each set of data collected c. Limitations i. Potential design and/or methodological weaknesses of the study ii. Explain how the weaknesses will be addressed iii. Threats to quality and how they will be potentially addressed in the study d. Ethical concerns i. Describe your proposed procedure for providing informed consent and any ethical concerns with which you may need to deal H. Significance of the study a. Practical contributions of the study b. For whom the study is important c. Implications for social change ______________________________________________________________ Research Toolkit In the following weeks, resources that you may find useful as reference will be listed here. Often the titles, such as the APA Manual, are tools you will come to know well for the remainder of your dissertation process. Also, consider any handout listed in the Required Resources as a helpful addition to your Research Toolkit. The Research Toolkit is not limited by what you find listed in this sectionkeep your own Research Toolkit that includes what you find here and resources you discover that are particularly helpful to you. Handouts o Walden Dissertation Rubric--Available from http://researchcenter.waldenu.edu/ The Dissertation Rubric is a Word document linked in the section for PhD Dissertation Process and Documents. o Walden Qualitative Dissertations This document directs you to dissertations in the Walden Library that use a variety of qualitative approaches and disciplines. o Welcome letter for the foundational Research Sequence This advanced research course is designed to help you achieve the 48 doctoral competencies listed in this document.