COLLAPSE SUBDISCUSSIONTrent Nguyen Trent Nguyen YesterdayJul 29 at 8:22amManage Discussion Entry Marcus: For the most part, the data collection process for qualitative approaches involve interviewing...

Trent Nguyen

Marcus:

For the most part, the data collection process for qualitative approaches involve interviewing participants. The questions asked of participants usually are few and broad and they encourage the participants to elaborate on their answers.These days researchers like the mixed-methods a lot, since it offers both types of data, which is more holistic than just quantitative or qualitative data. Of course, the work will be more if you engage in a mixed-methods study, but the results are worth the effort. Are there any concerns that you currently have in employing qualitative research approaches?

Deborah Carpenter

Dissertation 1

Tyrrell, R. (2015).Exploring the needs and perceptions of online faculty towards faculty

professional development: A qualitative study(Order No. 3707947). Available from

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1696284071).

Methodologies Used

For this study, a descriptive qualitative design methodology was used to examine how online instructors assess the quality of their teaching, their needs and methods for seeking professional development, and their perceptions of what should be included in an effective evaluation instrument (Tyrell, 2015). The researcher needed to take a holistic perspective of experiences, needs, and perceptions and therefore determined a qualitative approach was most appropriate. The researcher engaged in mixing research methods and used a triangulation approach (Hennink et al., 2011) to gather and analyze data. She began by surveying online faculty in a large group of participants and based on her quantitative analysis of this data, formed focus groups to more deeply understand needs and perceptions regarding an evaluation tool. Lastly, the researcher conducted in-depth interviews of faculty and program administrators to determine their needs and experiences as well. The implementation of the initial survey had another practical purpose, in that it allowed the researcher to identify and recruit participants for focus groups and/or interviews. The quantitative to qualitative approach allowed the researcher to interpret initial findings and results, followed by a study to understand and explain trends, patterns, or processes underlying these trends (Hennink et al., 2011).

Dissertation 2

Kamenetskiy, M. (2015).Evaluating faculty perceptions of teaching practices in online

asynchronous courses: An action research study(Order No. 3719498). Available from

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1717109796).

Methodologies Used

For this study, a qualitative data analysis approach was used to collect and analyze data in response to two questions: How can professional development intervention bring change in faculty attitudes and behavior toward online teaching; How will it change perceptions of online teaching practice? The researcher used a qualitative approach to become personally involved with the order and understanding of data (Kamenetskiy, 2015). She implemented a triangulation approach to collect data; this consisted of a pre-post questionnaire consisting of ten open-ended questions, semi-structured phone interviews with faculty participants, and a review of data from the Moodle learning platform, to determine how faculty online participation had increased as a resulting from the intervention. 14 faculty members ultimately participated in the study and two experts, the Provost and one university Dean were included as Experts 1 and 2 to determine if the researcher’s questions were appropriate for the methodology. A triangulation matrix was used for the collection, coding, and analysis of data (Kamenetskiy, 2015).

Analysis

Both studies were similar in that they used a triangulation approach to collect and analyze data and both involved written survey or questionnaire responses as well as interviews. Both studies focused on examining faculty perceptions, and uncovering and interpreting meanings from a shared experience, that of online teaching practice (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). There were more differences than similarities, as the first researcher used a mixed methods approach to gather quantitative data from a larger population of participants, before selecting a smaller pool for focus group and in-depth interview responses. The second researcher opted to gather qualitative data exclusively, and relied on interview alone rather than gathering data representing a range of issues and opinions within a focus group setting (Hennink et al., 2011). The differences exist to more appropriately accommodate the information sought by each researcher and her respective research questions. There must be a clear alignment between the methodology and the questions that guide it (Hennink et al., 2011).

References

Hennink, M., Hutter, I., & Bailey, A. (2011).Qualitative research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA:

SAGE.

Kamenetskiy, M. (2015).Evaluating faculty perceptions of teaching practices in online

asynchronous courses: An action research study(Order No. 3719498). Available from

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1717109796).

Merriam, S. B., Tisdell, E. J. (2016).Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and

Implementation(4th ed). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. SAGE.

Tyrrell, R. (2015).Exploring the needs and perceptions of online faculty towards faculty

professional development: A qualitative study(Order No. 3707947). Available from

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1696284071).