Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative methods of research
Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative methods of research
Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative methods of research
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Sampling Strategy and Sample Size for a Qualitative Research Plan
Sampling strategy and sample size is distinctly influenced by the research approach taken. This applies both to the overall research direction appropriate for a proposed study (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods) as well as to the technique applied to explore the phenomenon under investigation. Moreover, even though Ms. Lynn noted that quantitative and qualitative research methods exist on a continuum, where different methods reflect the amount of data and information available, literature and practice demonstrate significant differences in research strategy and sampling (Laureate Education, n.d.).
The following assignment will discuss the sampling strategy and sample size for the proposed research study. It will briefly evaluate strategies that may aid in the exploration of the issue. Furthermore, it will recommend and justify a sampling strategy and sample size. Finally, it will highlight the reasoning underlying the choice and associated benefits.
Sampling Strategies
There are significant differences in sampling strategies, requirements, and sample size between qualitative and quantitative research approaches. While quantitative research seeks generalizability, qualitative methods focus on depth, specificity of experiences, and content. As a result, quantitative research emphasizes the importance of random sampling, avoidance of bias, and sufficiently large samples, whereas qualitative approaches stress purposeful sampling and relatively small numbers (Creswell, 2013; Patton, 2002). This further holds that “what would be ‘bias’ in statistical sampling, and therefore weakness, becomes intended focus in qualitative sampling and therefore a strength” (Pat...
... middle of paper ...
...eity” (Patton, 2002, p. 235). The sample size will aim to balance elements of quality and quantity. Ten participants are expected to provide sufficient variety, while permitting for in-depth, detailed descriptions.
References:
Creswell, J. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks; CA: SAGE.
Creswell, J. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing between five approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Laureate Education (n.d.). Doctoral Research: Preparing for Qualitative Research [DVD]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Chan, Z.C.Y., Fung, Y., & Chien, W. (2013). Bracketing in Phenomenology: Only undertaken in the data collection and analysis process? The Qualitative Report, 18, p. 1-9.
Patton, M. (2002). Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods.(3rd ed).Thousand Oaks, Califorinia : Sage Publications, Inc . Retrieved on May 10th, 2014, From http://books.google.com
The type of data collection for a qualitative research study depends on the research design. The qualitative design itself originates out of the disciplines and flow throughout the process of research (Creswell, 2014). Creswell (2014) recommends narrative, phenomenology, ethnography, case study, and grounded theory as common qualitative research methods. These were recommended because of they are popular across the social and health and science research studies. Hays and Woods (2011) asserted that selecting a research tradition congruent with one's research orientation and study purpose, and at the same time, infusing it in all phases of qualitative inquiry, is one of the key criterions for trustworthiness of the research results. Hays and Woods (2011) recommends six qualitative research traditions, including ground theory, phenomenology, consensual qualitative research, ethnography, narratology, and participative action research. Indeed, while there are additional qualitative research methods available, scholars have identified these six qualitative traditions consistently or identified them as emerging and common methods of qualitative research (Hays & Woods, 2011).
Gelo, O., Braakmann, D., & Benetka, G. (2008). Quantitative and Qualitative Research: Beyond the Debate. Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Science, 42(3), 266-290. doi:10.1007/s12124-008-9078-3
Qualitative research is an approach that attempts to situate an activity that locates the observer in the world by providing the study to occur in their natural setting and by attempting to make sense of, or interpret information (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005). A characteristic of qualitative research is to use a variety of empirical materials such as personal experience, interviews, and questionnaires. It is imperative to understand the task at hand and how to fully carry out the study when using a qualitative research approach in order to find out the information needed. One view of qualitative research is it involves examining individual’s experiences and documenting those experiences in detail (Jones, 2011). By documenting these observations the researcher is ensuring validity in his or her data and giving the correct creditability to those who participated in the study.
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Marshall, C, Rossman, Gretchen B, (2006). Designing qualitative research, 4th edition, Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
Now within the rest of this paper you will be finding a few different things getting discussed. Staring it off we will be discussing the articles that we have found to make our arguments and hypotheses. After wrapping up the literature reviews we will be discussing the hypotheses thus continuing onto our variables and indicators. Once we discuss our hypotheses we will be moving onto the research design. The research design will have our general issues, sampling, and methods.
focused on the key qualitative research methods. For each article review, a brief description, guided by Myers (2013), and a critique, guided Pratt (2009), is provided. A summary of the five articles identifying the research method, data collection technique, data analysis approach and critique is provided in Table 1. The narrative review of each article coupled with figures and tables to organize and visualize thoughts (Pratt, 2009) follows the summary table.
In this paper, I will define quantitative and qualitative research methods and provide examples in the context of social issues which will hopefully provide insight into how this methods are properly applied.
Liamputtong, P. & Ezzy, D., 2005, Qualitative research methods, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Victoria, pp. 12-31.
Perri 6 & Christine B., 2012. Principles of Methodology: Research Design in Social Science. London: Sage.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches, 3rd Edition. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
This paper discusses different types of sampling techniques used in quantitative research. It begins by looking at probability sampling (also known as random sampling) before discussing non-probability sampling (non-random sampling). The discussion ends by looking considerations that should be made before selecting a sampling technique before concluding. Because quantitative researchers prefer probability sampling and only use non-probability on rare occasions the e...
4. Determining the Sample Size: Determining the sample size involves several qualitative and quantitative considerations, such as the importance of the decision; the nature of the research; the number of variables in...
References Denzin, N., & Lincoln, Y. (Eds.). (2005). Handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.