Final Reflection
One of the most challenging aspects of adulthood is navigating the unknown. Throughout life, one will construct meaning to their life through lived and experiences. As life progresses, novel happens can become routine events that can be navigated based on prior experiences. As drivers gain greater confidence behind the wheel with more experience on the road, repeating life events can provide some level of certainty or ease of access with time. However – like driving – prior experiences may not equip one with the skills or knowledge to navigate a novel event.
This semester brought many unexpected happenings that derailed what was intended to be a spring semester for making significant headway in moving the dissertation work forward. Personal and familiar events can quickly reshape all of the planning to engage in deep academic pursuits. Doctoral programs can have safeguards in place to ensure that students are continuously moving along in their academic journey with mentors, a major professor, and caring faculty who are committed to student success. However, even ambitious students can quickly become overwhelmed my unplanned events in and out of the academic setting. Students can also sideline their own success through a lack of communication with their mentors and professors when navigating such events. Anecdotally, doctoral students must have the commitment and drive to complete their academic pursuits until their dissertation is approved. Students with discipline to complete their program will return to their course of study and make meaning of prior novel events to plan and prepare preventative measures for navigating future novel events, and employ strategies when facing future obstacles.
--
Students who intend to employ qualitative approaches in their research have an exhaustive list of considerations for the design, implementation, and analysis of qualitative research methods. When designing a research plan, researchers that have spent time becoming familiar with the area of interest (e.g., founding papers and theories, major contributions, current trends, etc.) can consider prior researcher and their potential contributions when considering a research method that will best support their area of investigation. A researcher seeking to gain insight on the attitudes and perceptions of technology users for a given domain with limited prior research may benefit from initially performing a quantitative study that can be replicated to expand the area of knowledge on the topic. On the contrary, a researcher seeking to explore how a generation or culture defines a social phenomenon as ‘culture moment’ or ‘icon’ (e.g., a major social event or influential individual) may develop credibility through in-depth interviews and follow-up interview with research participants. In both scenarios, the researcher must assess the state of their area of interest and their desired contributions to the area when considering a methodology. Additionally, other factors like make up of the research team and theoretical framework are also things a researcher must consider when developing their research action plan.
When implementing a methodology with qualitative elements, researchers must carefully design a methodology that is appropriate to the context of their study and provides an avenue where the research participants are comfortable and uninfluenced to provide meaningful responses for the researcher to building qualitative findings. Researchers have factors like the modality (e.g., virtual, in-person, phone, on-/off-site, etc.), setting (e.g., one-on-one interviews, focus groups, etc.), and recording (e.g., pen and paper, voice recorder, digital notes, etc.) are all items that can shape the outcome and reach of a study. When selecting any of the factors, researchers should consider the how any of the aforementioned can restrict or expand the responses of participants (e.g., generational differences, location demographics, time of day for participants to engage in the research activity, etc.). Additionally, researchers should prepare for qualitative activities by diligently working with the research team and other researchers who can provide alternative perspectives, highlight potential pitfalls, and provide other items to consider prior to interacting with research participants. Each research activity, including replication studies, must be thoughtfully planned and executed align with the research objective and also having the best interests of the research participants in mind.
After a researcher or research team conducts a research study using qualitative methods, a credible analysis can be achieved through iterative and recursive processes throughout the analysis phase. Ensuring the accuracy of the participant responses, researchers can rely on several techniques such as independent and group review and re-review, member checks with research participants to confirm or clarify statements or responses, and self-reflection and reviewing self-reflection entries written throughout the research process, to generate a meaningful and accurate representation of the research corpus (e.g., the oral, written, or documented responses from research participants). Researchers also concurrently revisit the theoretical and conceptual framework that influenced the design of the study to ensure that the interpretation aligns with the intended focus, even if the finding on provide insight on the topic area and recommendations for future studies. Similar to human existence, research on a given area is ongoing and has the potential to be redefined by human existence. Through this perspective, researchers can be position themselves with endless opportunities to inquire and contribute to an area of study.
