HLSC464
In Task 1, you identified a topic that interested you in relation to qualitative research. You then
explained why it is an important topic (significance of the issue) and then developed a
qualitative research aim for the topic and an associated research question.
In Task 2, you identified a suitable qualitative research methodology to address this aim and
defended/justified your choice AND then identified a data collection method, including the sampling
and recruitment strategy that you would use with this research aim and methodology, justified your
choice and explained important aspects of the method.
General feedback Task 2
Factual statements should be supported with reference to relevant literature. If you make a
factual statement, ask yourself, ‘how do I know this?’, ‘where did this knowledge come from?’
Hypothesis – quantitative, not qualitative
Good work those who added in assumptions and a conceptual framework. One person
mentioned research paradigms
Sampling and Recruitment – not always well understood
If I wanted to interview a few students (but not the whole group) who are enrolled in HLSC646
to determine how they felt about the unit content, how would I select a sample from the whole
group?
Having identified my sample, how might I recruit them into the study?
Data collection is the information collected from participants. In a qualitative study data would
usually be collected through interviews or focus groups but could be collected through a
content analysis of documents or other qualitative means.
Good work those who included trust and building rapport with participants in relation to the
interview process
Data collection tools: interview guide/schedule
Ethics – if data is collected from human participants, informed consent is required, and this
consent is based on the information provided to participants about the study
Referencing – not always compliant with APA referencing but the effort is evident among most
students
Mostly recent literature accessed – reflects cu
ent research evidence and thinking
Task 3 Notes and example structure
In Task 3, you are expanding on the work you have already completed.
Look at the Task
Look at the Marking Ru
ic
Look at the Learning Outcomes
Example structure
Introduction
This assignment aims to outline a qualitative research proposal that seeks to explore and
understand XXXXXXXXXX. The assignment will articulate the research problem and its
significance, providing explanations and justifications regarding the methodology proposed
which includes the sampling method, recruitment strategy, data collection method and data
analysis method. Ethical consideration, confidentiality and trustworthiness will also be
discussed in this paper.
Background – (Context/literature review)
According to XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Research problem (Identified in Assessment 1)
The significance of the problem (Identified in Assessment 1)
The research aim and research questions (Identified in Assessment 1)
This research aims to XXXX
Lastly, this research hopes to explore
The research questions are:
1. What is the lived experience of
2. What are the enablers and ba
iers contributing towards XXXX
Research methodology
To meet the aims of the research, a qualitative methodology is ideal to
ing out the XXX
In particular, the phenomenological approach developed by Husserl and Heidegger will be used
to explore experiences of
The sampling method (Identified in Assessment 2)
Eligible participants for the study will be
Recruitment strategy (Identified in Assessment 2)
Ethical Consideration
Ethical approval for completion of the study will be sought
Data Collection Method (Identified in Assessment 2)
In-depth interviews will be conducted with a sample size of X participants through a means of
semi-structured interviews. According to Polit and Beck (2017), a minimal sample size of X is
ecommended to obtain data saturation for a phenomenological study.
Prior to commencing the interview, the researcher will
The following guidelines will be communicated to the participants to help them make an
informed decision to participate in the study - the aims of the research, the potential risks and
enefits and that participation is voluntary. Participants will also be informed that
Each participant will be interviewed
An interview guide will be used to guide the flow of the session. It will incorporate XX
Data analysis methods
Data will be analysed using
Trustworthiness/Rigour
Trustworthiness, also known as rigour, which is the process of
Ethical Consideration
Ethical approval for completion of the study will be sought
Conclusion
References (New page)
Further notes on Assignment 3
There can be slight variations on this format, but most proposals will be something similar to this.
For example, a quantitative study might include a ‘hypothesis’ section whereas a qualitative study
would not typically have a hypothesis.
Let’s assume then, that you have identified a topic, conducted a literature review and
contextualised the study in the background section of the proposal. In addition, you have outlined a
esearch problem that can be addressed via a research study. You are now considering the
significance of the problem. A research problem that is significant is one that has importance for one
eason or another. For example, a problem might be significant because of the scale of it or the
difficulty of it. That is, the problem affects many people, or affects few people but in a significant
way. Alternatively, the study might be significant because of the potential utility of the research
findings. Researchers often talk about the ‘so what?’ question when they refer to significance. That
is, they ask ‘so what?’ in relation to the study problem in order to consider the issue of significance.
Funding bodies, for example, are interested in funding studies where they can easily see the
importance and utility of the proposed study findings (Liamputtong, 2013).
Once a significant research problem is identified then the study can be designed to address
the problem, or an aspect of it. In qualitative approaches to research, the study design includes
either research aims, research questions or both. A research aim is
oader than a research question
and outlines what it is that the researcher wants to achieve via their research. For example, a
esearch aim might be to contribute to knowledge in a particular area, to inform either clinical
practice or health policy (Walter, 2013).
While the research aim illustrates your research intention, the research questions will drive
your study. The questions might simply present themselves when you consider the research
problem you are interested in or they may arise as you read the academic literature in order to
ascertain what is already known about the research topic or problem. The research questions do
not take up many words in your research proposal, but it is imperative that considerable time and
attention is given to the formulation of these questions. The research questions will shape the
design of the study and provide some boundary for your study, illustrating the direction and the
limits of what will be investigated (Walter, 2013).
The research questions will also determine the methodology that is chosen and the methods
for the study (Walter, XXXXXXXXXXThe research study must be based on a recognised methodological
approach to research. This choice is predicated on the capacity of the methodology to answer the
esearch question or research aims. That is, one chooses a particular methodology as this
methodology will best allow you to identify a sample, data collection tools and data analysis
methods so that you can produce an answer to your research questions.
METHODOLOGY
There are many qualitative research methodologies. Some of the more frequently used
ones in the health and social science field are ethnography, grounded theory, phenomenology, case
study and na
ative (Creswell, XXXXXXXXXXEach of these methodologies has a rich history and particular
ways that sampling, data collection and data analysis is conducted. Also, there are debates within
each methodology about various issues of contention. This is to be expected within a research field,
whether it is qualitative or quantitative in approach. However, the main thing at this point is to read
as much as you can on the methodology that you are going to use for your study so that you have a
good grasp of the various methods used for sampling, data collection and data analysis.
SAMPLING
The sampling method that you use for your study will be consistent with your methodology.
There are some commonalities across qualitative methodologies in relation to sampling issues and
methods. As with quantitative research, we consider a sample to be a set (of people or things) or a
number of cases from a given potential study population (Tranter, XXXXXXXXXXHowever, the sampling
methods used in qualitative research differ considerably from those used in quantitative research.
Consider this by first looking at the sampling method that is frequently used in quantitative research
and then contrast this with what is typically used in qualitative research.
Probability sampling is typically used in quantitative research. Probability sampling is
defined in this way. “Samples selected in accordance with probability theory. Probability sampling
elies on the fact that researchers have a list of all the elements or cases in a population they are
studying, that they are able to randomly select elements or cases from this list, and that all cases or
elements have an equal chance of being selected” (Walter, 2013, p. 393).
The main difference between the two approaches to sampling is that while quantitative
studies tend to use probability sampling, qualitative studies tend to use non-probability sampling
methods. Non-probability sampling is defined as “[a] sampling process that does not use probability
sampling techniques to select a sample. Examples include convenience sampling, snowball
sampling, and self-selected sampling” (Walter, 2013, p. 391).
You will note that in contrast to probability sampling, non-probability sampling means that
the sample does not need to be randomly selected from the population from which the sample
comes. Rather it is about looking for a sample that can provide the information that is needed in
order to answer the research questions.
In addition, as Tranter XXXXXXXXXXpoints out, we do not always know who is in the study
population in a qualitative study so it would not even be possible to use probability sampling. For
example, it would be highly unlikely that you could define the entire study population so as to find a
epresentative sample if the study was investigating and seeking to interview those who had been