Qualitative Research for Social Change
ussion: Reflections on Qualitative Research for Social Change
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
—Mahatma Gandhi, (1869–1948)
Indian Leader/Anti-War Activist
Education without action is like a billboard in a basement—big, bold, but actionable to no one. By incorporating social change as part of its mission statement, the leadership of Walden University is asking students, faculty, and leadership to consider the possibility of how to use one’s education to deliberately be in the world and make some part of it a better place.
Consider what you have learned from this course—the fundamental procedures of how to conduct qualitative research; and the critical processes that identify the researcher as a self-reflective co-participant. For this week, reflect on how these considerations have influenced your understanding of research and your direction for your dissertation or doctoral study.
To prepare for this Discussion:
- Review the readings from the Ravitch and Carl and Rubin and Rubin and consider reflecting on your experiences in qualitative research throughout this course.
- Review the media programs related to The Qualitative Dissertation Experience: A Doctoral Candidate Experience and consider the experience of other doctoral candidates through this qualitative research process.
By Day 3
Post your responses to the following:
- Explain what social change means to you as a Walden doctoral candidate. What experiences from the course most influenced your understanding?
- Explain what in qualitative research you would like to know more about as a result of taking this course.
- Reflect on your problem statement and the next steps for developing a research topic for your dissertation or doctoral study. Include an explanation of whether you would choose a qualitative approach, why or why not.
Be sure to support your main post and response post with reference to the week’s Learning Resources and other scholarly evidence in APA style. Zero plagiarizing, Quote work, No.com
The results of the childcare program’s qualitative study had profound implications for their outreach program, and—like any good research study—raised more questions that needed further exploration.
The results of the self-study revealed substantive access and cultural obstacles (e.g., lack of evening hours; language barriers) that discouraged families from considering their program as a valid alternative. The focus groups revealed a community memory of a poorly handled incident between a local family and the program that the executive team had not effectively healed. Interestingly, the individual interviews revealed insights on how the program could rebuild trust through working with existing informal community networks, with receptivity to bringing the program into the churches and homes. The results also led to considerations for other types of programming to reach at risk children, and provide support (e.g., care-giving education, healthy snacks, books, etc.) to caregivers in the community.
The research team used the results of the study to engage with the rest of the organization’s staff and other stakeholders, describing how they as the researchers were changed by the results.
The ongoing scenario throughout the weeks of the course provided a good basis for thoughtful qualitative research. As you consider your dissertation or doctoral study, this will undoubtedly serve as a good foundational experience as you move forward.
In this final week, as you look toward the future, you may be considering a qualitative capstone or dissertation study that will involve more interviews and data sources. If that’s the case, you may want to consider the various qualitative data management software programs available to you such as NVivo, Atlas.ti, QDA Miner, HyperResearch, and Quirkos. These programs facilitate the analysis of bigger and more complex qualitative datasets. All of these applications have free trials to experiment with and resources on YouTube and related websites. And, your chair may recommend a specific application as well.
QSR International. (n.d.). Nvivo. Retrieved from http://www.qsrinternational.
com/
Quirkos. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.quirkos.com/index.
html
For this last week of the course, you will examine the meaning of social change and how this course influenced your understanding.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Analyze the meaning of social change
- Analyze research topics for qualitative research
- Analyze considerations for choosing qualitative research approach for dissertations or doctoral studies
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2016). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Epilogue, “Revisiting Critically, Reflexivity, Collaboration, and Rigor” (pp. 383–392)
- Chapter 10, “Crafting Qualitative Research Proposals” (pp. 299–342)
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2012). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Chapter 14, “Personal Reflections on Responsive Interviewing” (pp. 234–242)
Required Media
In these media programs, Walden University former and current doctoral candidates discuss their qualitative dissertations and why they chose this particular topic.
Answer preview
Qualitative research for social change is a great contribution to social developments in the modern world. It was propelled by the limited researches regarding social change and the need to improve people’s life. Qualitative research has been successfully applied by many researchers because of its flexibility during the whole process of research.
Meaning of social change
As a Walden doctoral candidate, social change is a positive influence on the world through one’s education by making the world…
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