Running Header: M5 Research Design

M5 Research Design Critique Report

Texas A&M University – Commerce
Kelly Luza
Running Header: M5 Research Design

Assignment Instructions: Using the information in the instructions below, add your inputs directly into the empty
textbox below the instructions.

Scenario
Provide a scenario of when it would be advantageous for you to use each of the following types of qualitative designs:
narrative, ethnographic, and case study. Briefly discuss differences between these three types of qualitative research
designs to include the advantages and disadvantages of each type of design.

Your Scenario Here

Qualitative research is used when a researcher wants to better understand and explore a given event based on a
group or an individuals’ personal experiences. Types of qualitative designs include case study, ethnographic, and
narrative. A case study involves studying an individual to determine their behavior patterns, educational strengths
and limitations over a given period. A case study allows the researcher time to develop antidotal and data information
on an individual to make determinations regarding their present and future development. The disadvantage is there
are no set guidelines on how to conduct the research or what to include in their findings. A case study can be time
consuming, not usually funded, and the final product if too lengthy may not always be read in its entirety by others.
An example of a case study is to see if an individual has autistic characteristics through personal observations,
collection of data, and an in-depth exploration of their own interaction within their natural setting.
Ethnographic research centers on behavior, beliefs, and language that develop over time within a culture. The
researcher must analyze and describe their findings through field notes, interviews, and written documents of
individuals within the group. Advantages of ethnographic research include the ability to compare different types of
data, having direct contact with the group which leads to self-awareness, and provides insight into human behavior.
Disadvantages are that it is time consuming, intrusive into other peoples lives, and the data could be skewed by
cultural bias and the participant not being open and honest. An example of ethnographic research would be to study
how people became part of the homeless society within a given area of a city.
Narrative is research that focuses on a personal account of individuals through the collection of data and stories of
people’s lives and their individual experiences. Advantages of this research include establishing a close relationship
with the participant enabling him to report their individual experiences through personal narratives and life histories
in a chronological order. Information is usually easy to understand and often allows the reader to relate to everyday
situations. Weaknesses include the data can be manipulated and fabricated, reliability and validity of the research can
not be proven since most of the data is not objective. An example of narrative research could focus on a time when a
person experienced bullying in their life.

First Article Summary

Provide a paragraph, which highlights the purpose of study and research questions that the author(s) attempted to
address. When you refer to this particular study, simply identify this research by citing the author(s) and date. I would
then like for you to provide the full APA reference at the conclusion of this document.

Your First Article Summary Here

Qualitative research is not a preferred research method among Thai science teachers. Thailand requires all teachers
to conduct classroom research, and without being able to correctly utilize qualitative research, the teachers are
Running Header: M5 Research Design

unable to further develop their understanding of the student and therefore improve their teaching practices. The
research questions that the author, Buaraphan (2016), tried to answer were:
1. “What are the in-service teachers’ problems concerning CAR (Classroom Action Research)?’
2. What are the effects of the QCAR workshop on the in-service science teachers’ understanding of and attitudes
to QCAR (Qualitative Classroom Action Research)?’
(Buaraphan, pg. 4)
Teachers had not been exposed to qualitative research in their education courses and it was not utilized in the
different school systems. The teachers had been taught to rely on objective rather than qualitative data that could
provide them with inquiry, reflection, and shared information of their students. No research previously had proven
that with qualitative research there could be a deeper understanding about students’ thinking and learning. They
further realized that the inclusion of qualitative research would yield information regarding students’ attitudes and
capabilities toward learning. The researchers finally realized that to change teaching roles and practices in the
classrooms they had to bridge the importance of including qualitative research to their curriculum.

Summation of Research Literature

This section should summarize in two or three paragraphs previous research that the authors found that led to their
particular study.

Your Summation Here

The authors of this study found that there was an issue concerning Thailand teachers and their ability to conduct
qualitative classroom action research. Thailand teachers heavily favored using quantitative research due to it not
being time consuming, their tendency to form hypotheses over research questions, and highly favoring research itself
then the process of learning about how to research. Thailand school administration felt that qualitative research was
simply an alternative approach that did not yield information to better equip their teachers. They felt that reflection
and personalization of student information did not affect and improve their science instruction. They further found
that most scientific education journals rarely included any data regarding qualitative research. Teachers interviewed
felt that qualitative research did not yield informative data and had both subjective and ethical dilemmas. The new
research team, therefore, took on the task of proving that qualitative research could be just as effective as other
research methods.

Without using qualitative research methods, the teacher is missing out on the opportunity to better understand their
students, developing their educational philosophy, increasing their confidence in their teaching ability, and being
more receptive to new teaching tactics. Insight into students’ backgrounds can better serve teachers to see how to
their individual uniqueness effects their ability to learn. A questionnaire or individual/group interview conducted by
the teacher could garner information that would allow them to see why students perform at different levels. A grade
or a standardized test score does not give a complete picture of a student.

Method for Collecting and Analyzing Data

This section needs to highlight in two or three paragraphs the method that was used to collect data and how data
were analyzed.

Your Data Collection/Analysis Method Here

Researchers used a case study as their primary method to interpret and gather data for the study. The participants in
the study were 32 in-service teachers who ranged in age (26-55), education (bachelor or masters), teaching
Running Header: M5 Research Design

experience (5-30 years), grade taught (1st-9th) and gender. The teachers were then asked to attend a “Qualitative
Classroom Action Research” workshop for three days to increase their understanding of how to conduct and analyze
qualitative research within their classrooms. The topics of the workshop were the importance of qualitative research,
how to develop research questions, and how to analyze qualitative research titles and objectives.
Once the data was collected then the “Shapiro-Wilk W test (Buaraphan, pg.6) was used to make sure the data was
normally distributed. They then looked for the mean and standard deviation of the participants rating of how difficult
they felt using CAR was and how their attitudes were before and after the workshop on how likely they were to use
CAR within their own classrooms. They also used a “t-test” to check the beginning and ending attitudes of the
participants as it related to CAR to see if they had dramatically shifted after the workshop.

The last analysis method that was used was thematic as it related to the participants reflections of what they had
gained from the QCAR workshop. They then took those reflections and analyzed their frequencies which were then
counted and recorded. The method of analysis consisted of “Familiarization with data by intensive reading of the
participants’ reflections, generating initial codes, searching for themes among codes, reviewing themes, and defining
and naming themes (pg. 6)”.

Results and Conclusion

This section needs to summarize in two or three paragraphs the results of this study and address conclusions and
recommendations made by the authors.

Your Results and Conclusion Here

Based upon the results from the workshop the research team deduced that teachers had three main concerns when
it related to qualitative research. They felt ill-prepared in writing qualitative research reports, how to analyze data,
and designing their own research instruments. They did find, however, find that the attitudes of the teachers pre-and
post-conference significantly improved to using classroom action research. After the summation of the workshop the
teachers were able to “create their own QCAR research proposals and had feedback for improving their proposals”
(pg.8).

The authors recommend that QCAR be included as professional development for all science teachers in Thailand.
They felt that CAR is “research based, centers on authentic and genuine inquiry, is data driven, bridges theory and
practice, and is collegial and collaborate” (pg.10). Being able to understand qualitative research the teacher can
better understand their classrooms and how to teach to a wide range of topics and audiences. From the reflections of
the teachers about the workshop they were able to improve aspects of the conference and add time management
and teacher collaboration to the agenda as well as extend it to a continuous long-term conference.

Second Article Summary

Your Purpose of Study Here
The research team studied counselor education along with school counselors on the job and decided that the role of
qualitative research to be lacking in their educational and professional careers. They felt there needed to be
exposure and encouragement to include qualitative research education in counselor education courses and to put
this training into action when they obtained a counselor position in schools. The research team felt that counselors
today do not experience the theoretical congruence between qualitative research and their professional careers.
The team decided that their research would center on collecting and analyzing data through reflective journals,
Running Header: M5 Research Design

summary essays, focus group and individual interviews among participants in counseling education courses along
with those currently in the position of school counselor who had not had formal training in qualitative research and
how using this data could provide better insight to their students.

Your Summation of Research Literature Here

The research team determined that there was a lack of the role of research in counselors’ education and professional
lives. It was further determined that the subject of qualitative research was a professional concern due to its lack of it
for the last two decades. The disengagement of the use of qualitative research was discovered to be lacking with
counselors as practitioners.

Their biggest finding was that counselors were not consumers of qualitative research.
The research team concluded that the need for qualitative research in counselor education is not a new one.
Literature and research indicated that there is speculation that qualitative research appealed to counseling students.
This caused them to search for its inclusion and the best way for them to understand counselor education would be
to use different components of qualitative research to prove that it could be used as a viable tool by counselors.

Your Method of Collecting and Analyzing Data Here

The first step the research team began with was procurement of their control group. Participants were divided into
practicing counselors and students currently in counselor education classes. Both groups were separately involved in
semi-structured interviews. Upon the completion of the interviews the focus groups were asked to verify their
involvement which led to later full group discussions regarding the interview responses. The second phase of the
research involved gaining permission to use prepared reflective journal questions to the participants with the
understanding that none of their identities would be revealed. The research team took all data collected and
separated it into how many of the group were aware of qualitative research methods along with whether it could
become a useful tool in obtaining further information on their students.

Verification of the data was based on a variety of sources including essays, interviews, and literature regarding
coursework required in counselor education. All participants verified the accuracy of the transcriptions of the date
they provided. During the data analysis, the research team met regularly to discuss emerging insights and to refine
and clarify their understanding of the data. It was determined that attitudes toward qualitative research were
positive from the study and that its inclusion in counselor education and putting into practice was needed. The
participants felt that useable data could be obtained from qualitative research and that its viability provided a more
holistic background of others perceptions and experiences.

Your Results and Conclusions Here

Finalized data was shown to the participants and all concluded that qualitative research needs to be used with
certain students and topics as needed. One participant commented that she was “dumfounded by how much latitude
and flexibility there was in qualitative research since it allowed her the freedom to explore questions of real
interest.” The participants also stated they have quantitative data from student grades, standardized testing, and
individual state required testing results, but more insightful, personalized data regarding their students is not as
abundant that qualitative research could yield.

Development and use of qualitative research along with other research designs in their counselor education courses
can give the counselor a fuller picture of their students and allow them to better meet their social and personal
needs. Counselors realized that qualitative research gives them the ability to be better informed continuously of their
Running Header: M5 Research Design

students. Its open-ended nature allows counselors to gather useful information through skills taught in observation,
conversation, participation, and interpretation through their students’ experiences.

References
Please list your two references in APA format. Don’t forget to list in alphabetical order based upon first author.

Your References Here – APA Format

Buaraphan, Khajornsak. "The Development of Qualitative Classroom Action Research Workshop for in-Service
Science Teachers." Asia - Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching 17.1 (2016): 1-11. ProQuest. 2 Dec. 2017.

Reisetter, Marcy, et al. "Counselor Educators and Qualitative Research: Affirming a Research Identity." Counselor
Education and Supervision 44.1 (2004): 2-16. ProQuest. 3 Dec. 2017 .