Journal : Qualitative Research Journal 3

Help me study for my Social Science class. I’m stuck and don’t understand.

For this week’s Journal entry, consider and respond to all three of the following prompts:

• Progress: What has been happening in the course since the previous entry?
• Problems: What obstacles/challenges have you faced with regard to the course and with regard to developing your research question and approach for your Final Project?
• Plans: Look toward the next week. What challenges are you considering to resolve? Consider how your idea for your research project is evolving.

Below is a list of things that has been happening since.

Prepare for the following in Weeks 2 and 3:

• You will immerse yourself in eight different qualitative approaches. Starting with one you already know—the basic qualitative research study (covered in RSCH 8310)—you will build your own knowledge matrix to compare and contrast the components of the different approaches.
• You will read qualitative studies that employ each approach. The best way to understand a particular approach is to read and evaluate research that uses that approach.
• You will choose which approach is best suited for your research question. After exploring eight possibilities, you will propose the approach that best fits your question and that will be your procedural guide for your Final Project.

Be advised that these activities require a considerable amount of reading, researching, and organizing time—so plan accordingly.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Define and describe the components of a qualitative research approach
• Compare and contrast the following qualitative research approaches:
  • Basic qualitative inquiry
  • Qualitative case study
  • Grounded theory and realism
  • Phenomenology and heuristic inquiry
• Evaluate scholarly qualitative articles