Journal This week, consider writing a Journal entry on one or more of the following topics related to the methodology for your Qualitative Research Plan (Final Project). These items are from the Walden Dissertation Rubric: Role of the researcher in the data collection procedure is described. (Chapter 3, Item 3) The context for the study is described and justified. Procedures for gaining access to participants are described. Methods of establishing a researcherparticipant working relationship are appropriate. (Chapter 3, Item 5) Measures for ethical protection of participants are adequate. (Chapter 3, Item 6) _____________________________________________________________________ Planning the Methodology Introduction You can think of qualitative research like a story. Now that you have devised the plan, it is time for you to consider exactly how that plan will be carried out. Much as a novelist outlines a novel before the writing process and then fleshes out the details of the story, you have outlined the theories that you will employ. The fleshing out will occur as you write the detailed plan for your methodology. A clear methodology will tell your readers the story of the data collection and analysis. Planning a methodology in advance will also help you to anticipate many issues that may come up and to develop alternative or contingency plans in order to make sure that you will be able to answer your research questions. Learning Outcomes By the end of this week, you will be able to: Debate the merits of structured and unstructured methods in qualitative research Defend a position on sample size necessary to produce meaningful qualitative data _____________________________________________________________________ Required Resources Course Text: Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach o Chapter 5, "Methods: What Will You Actually Do?" This chapter will guide you in conducting your research. It provides information about structured and unstructured approaches, negotiating research designs, site and participant selection, making decisions about data collection and analysis, and analyzing qualitative data. Course Text: Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook o Chapter 2, "Research Design and Management," pp. 30 37 This excerpt from Chapter 2 describes the importance and process of sampling. Course Text: Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. o Chapter 5, "Designing Qualitative Studies," pp. 264-272, pp. 311-315 Read the sections "Purposeful Sampling" and "Sample Size" from Chapter 5. These excerpts provide sampling strategies and techniques for qualitative research. Research Toolkit 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.

Journal This week, consider writing a Journal entry on one or more of the following topics related to the methodology for your Qualitative Research Plan (Final Project). These items are from the Walden Dissertation Rubric: Role of the researcher in the data collection procedure is described. (Chapter 3, Item 3) The context for the study is described and justified. Procedures for gaining access to participants are described. Methods of establishing a researcherparticipant working relationship are appropriate. (Chapter 3, Item 5) Measures for ethical protection of participants are adequate. (Chapter 3, Item 6) _____________________________________________________________________ Planning the Methodology Introduction You can think of qualitative research like a story. Now that you have devised the plan, it is time for you to consider exactly how that plan will be carried out. Much as a novelist outlines a novel before the writing process and then fleshes out the details of the story, you have outlined the theories that you will employ. The fleshing out will occur as you write the detailed plan for your methodology. A clear methodology will tell your readers the story of the data collection and analysis. Planning a methodology in advance will also help you to anticipate many issues that may come up and to develop alternative or contingency plans in order to make sure that you will be able to answer your research questions. Learning Outcomes By the end of this week, you will be able to: Debate the merits of structured and unstructured methods in qualitative research Defend a position on sample size necessary to produce meaningful qualitative data _____________________________________________________________________ Required Resources Course Text: Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach o Chapter 5, "Methods: What Will You Actually Do?" This chapter will guide you in conducting your research. It provides information about structured and unstructured approaches, negotiating research designs, site and participant selection, making decisions about data collection and analysis, and analyzing qualitative data. Course Text: Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook o Chapter 2, "Research Design and Management," pp. 30 37 This excerpt from Chapter 2 describes the importance and process of sampling. Course Text: Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. o Chapter 5, "Designing Qualitative Studies," pp. 264-272, pp. 311-315 Read the sections "Purposeful Sampling" and "Sample Size" from Chapter 5. These excerpts provide sampling strategies and techniques for qualitative research. Research Toolkit 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.