Topic 2 DQ 2
In qualitative research, the researcher can decide to use phenomenological research, ethnographic research or grounded theory. The three are employed depending on the researcher and the data intended to be collected. The phenomenological study tries to explain how human beings experience any situation presented to them. Phenomenological studies aim to identify biases or other preconceived ideas about individual feelings, responses and experiences when they are in a particular situation. The study tries to find out what something means to individual people in a population when presented in a similar situation. Data is collected from individuals with the experience being studied.
Ethnographic research is mainly concerned with a particular culture and the power within that culture. This study pertains to direct interaction between researcher and participant in their real environments so that the researcher can gain relevant information about particular cultural norms, values and attitudes — the study used available literature that is related to the problem of research. Grounded theory, on the other hand, tries to find out what is going on in a particular environment. Ground theory suits more when one is conducting fieldwork, and it is sometimes used as a general method for analysing qualitative data. Most of ground theory research does not consult literature regarding the problem being researched.
The similarities between the three research methodologies include the use of more than one data collection techniques for all. Grounded theory and ethnography researchers study a situation in its context, and they also use a holistic approach during the study. Although they all use different data collection techniques, the reports are presented in the perspective of a person who has already experienced the ordeal even when literature is used.