Qualitative research critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Qua lightedative research critique - Essay ExampleSurvys and cas xprimnts lik Grahams ar xampls of qualitativ rsarch dsigns, which ar mor qualitativ and hav mor aspcts of this typ of thory. Quantitativ studis tnd to rly on hard data and statistics that can provid gnralizabl rsults about a population, whras qualitativ studis could b mor of a cas xampl or subjctiv viwpoint, masuring, as Graham dos, attituds and blifs in a population. Grahams dsign could also b calld flxibl. As th xtant litratur stats about th diffrnc btwn fixd and flxibl dsigns, Flxibl rsarch dsigns ar frequently mor difficult to pin down than fixd dsigns. This is in part bcaus it is only in rcnt yars that rsarchrs hav givn considration to th dsign issus which thy rais. Prviously thr had bn a tradition in th disciplins of social anthropology of an apprnticship modl (Robson, 2003). If qualitativ dsigns hav lss history bhind thm in th litratur on th subjct it might b an indication that thy ar not ncssarily as ffctiv. .. . Th main rational for this choic is that survys can giv a fairly asy-to-gt sampl of rlvant information from a fairly larg sampl siz (Graham usd ovr fifty participants), whil still bing vry cost-ffctiv to th rsarchr and giving quality rsults. Although survys hav thir drawbacks, in trms of fals rports, slf-rport bias, and othr issus, such as participants putting down or saying wrong answrs on purpos, survys and intrviws can shd a lot of light on issus, particularly in a qualitativ study that sks to masur attituds and blifs in a givn population or populations, as notd abov. Survys can b classifid by thir mthod of data collction. Mail, tlphon intrviw, and in-prson intrviw survys ar th most common. xtracting data from sampls of mdical and othr rcords is also frquntly don. In nwr mthods of data collction, information is ntrd dirctly into computrs (Rsarch, 2007). Gnrally th advantags of a slf-administrd survy ar conomy, spd, lack of intrviwr bias, and th possibility of anonymity and priva cy to ncourag mor candid rsponss on snsitiv issus (Rsarch, 2007). Survys can also collct a rlativly larg amount of information for a rlativly low pric. Sampling Th author had a small sampl siz of undr 100 individuals. Th sampl was not randomizd, bcaus th author had to contact a spcific group of rspondnts who would fit thir dmographic and socio-conomic variabls. Drawing on a study of 57 womn caring for pr trail childrn in low-incom familis, th articl xplors som of th