Free «Basics of Qualitative Research» Essay Sample

Select a chosen methodology. For this methodology, and in relation to the research design that was developed on “Coursework LS3”, develop a plan for data analysis, interpretation, and representation. Include the purpose this analysis will serve. Discuss the practicalities of doing the data analysis/ interpretation, and debate the merits of the choices you will need to make.

The methodology that I will use to research about the problem of knowledge hoarding in our organization is ethnography research. It mainly focuses on people in a particular group who share the same culture. The plan for data analysis that I will use will rely on coding of the data collected. In the coding process, I will mainly read the data that I will have collected and indicate how it relates to my research questions. Analysis of the collected data will help in ensuring that I use only relevant information while interpreting my data (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe & Jackson, 2012). In ethnographic research, interpretation of the data collected mainly concentrates on human actions. The researcher gives this description using verbal explanations. I will mainly interpret the information I get from the members of our investment team regarding the problem of knowledge hoarding by reviewing the interview responses of these members. I will represent the data by giving an oral presentation regarding the findings of my research. In addition, I will also draw graphs that will represent the different views of the employees regarding the problem of knowledge hoarding in our organization. Analysis, interpretation and representation of data are practical since they will help in ensuring that the data used for analysis is relevant and reliable. This will improve the strength of the research process.

Each chosen approach to data analysis and interpretation should be compared with the other approaches put forward by other members (1) Case studies research, (2) Archival Records research, (3) Ground theory)

Analysis and interpretation of ethnographic research is different from case study research in several ways. In case study research, the researcher closely interacts with the researchers. This suggests that the analysis and interpretation of the data collected may be affected by the personal bias that the researcher may develop due to interacting with the participants (Creswell, 2013). Interpretation of archival records research is different from ethnographic research since archival research mainly concentrates on data collected by other scholars. This interpretation will be based on how the other researchers presented their collected data. Mistakes made by previous researchers will also be revealed in the research conducted through archival records. Grounded theory mainly uses interviews during data collection. This method uses statistical analysis to make judgments based on the responses given by the interviewees.

Agree for each research methodology what constitutes good research and how this could be evaluated by the researcher and/or client

A good research should have several characteristics. One of the important characteristics of a good research is that it should involve the subjects under study. This will ensure that they are free to give their contributions regarding the actual research process. In addition, it should be systematic. This will help in ascertaining that a researcher follows the required steps during data collection and data analysis (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). This ensures that the data collected is reliable. A good research methodology should also use good tools of data collection. Examples of these tools include structured interviews and pretested questionnaires. The data collected from these tools will be accurate therefore leading to good conclusions. Moreover, the sample selected for a particular research should be representative of the whole population. This will prevent the researcher from making assumptions that do not relate to the whole population under study. A researcher should also consider doing a literature review before doing the actual research process. This will help in ensuring that the researcher considers other researcher’s findings in his/her research analysis.