Assignment: Qualitative Research Approaches Matrix, Part I

In order for you to select the qualitative research approach that best fits your research question, you will need to develop a deeper familiarity with the approaches available to you. This week’s Assignment is the first of a two-part activity designed to broaden and deepen your base of knowledge of qualitative research approaches. While the activity does not encompass all possible approaches, it does allow you to explore the eight most common approaches you are likely to encounter and may wish to consider for yourself.

For this Assignment, you will complete the first half of the Qualitative Research Approaches Matrix Template, which is designed to allow you to compare and contrast qualitative research approaches.

To prepare for this Assignment:

• Review this week’s readings, focusing on the differences among the following four types of qualitative research approaches:
  • Generic qualitative inquiry
  • Qualitative case study
  • Grounded theory and realism
  • Phenomenology and heuristic inquiry
• Locate the Qualitative Research Approaches Matrix Template in this week’s Learning Resources.
• Read the examples of research studies provided in this week’s Learning Resources.
• Select additional readings that focus on specific approaches (some suggestions have been provided for you in the Optional Resources).

• Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

  • Chapter 3, “Variety of Qualitative Inquiry Frameworks: Paradigmatic, Philosophical, and Theoretical Orientations” (pp. 85–168)
  • Chapter 4, “Practical and Actionable Qualitative Applications” (pp. 169–242)

  Basic Qualitative Research

  Bowers, B. J., Fibich, B., & Jacobson, N. (2001). Care-as-service, care-as-relating, care-as-comfort: Understanding nursing home residents’ definitions of quality. The Gerontologist, 41(4), 539–545. Retrieved from http://gerontologist.oxfordjournals.org/Care-as-Service, Care-as-Relating, Care-as-Comfort Understanding Nursing Home Residents’ Definitions of Quality by Bowers, B.; Fibich, B.; Jacobson, N., in The Gerontologist, Vol. 41/Issue 4. Copyright 2001 by Oxford University Press – Journals, The Gerontological Society of America. Reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press – Journals, The Gerontological Society of America via the Copyright Clearance Center.

  Qualitative Case Study

  Donnelly, C., Brenchley, C., Crawford, C., & Letts, L. (2013). The integration of occupational therapy into primary care: a multiple case study design.BMC family practice, 14(1), 1.

  Grounded Theory

  Barello, S., Graffigna, G., Vegni, E., Savarese, M., Lombardi, F., & Bosio, A. C. (2015). ‘Engage me in taking care of my heart’: a grounded theory study on patient–cardiologist relationship in the hospital management of heart failure. BMJ open, 5(3), e005582.

  Heuristic Inquiry

  Howard, A., & Hirani, K. (2013). Transformational change and stages of development in the workplace: A heuristic inquiry. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 8(1/2), 71–86.

  Documents and Tools

  Document: R8360 Guidelines for Reading and Evaluating Qualitative Research Articles (PDF)

  Document: Example of How to Read and Evaluate a Qualitative Research Article (PDF)

  Document: Qualitative Research Approaches Matrix Template (Word Document)

  Required Media

  Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2017). Voices from the field [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

  Optional Resources

  Bochner, A. P., & Ellis, C. (2016). Evocative autoethnography: Writing lives and telling stories. New York, NY: Routledge.

  Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

  Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2015). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

  Fetterman, D. M. (2010). Ethnography: Step-by-step (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

  Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

  Smith, J. A., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. (2009). Interpretative phenomenological analysis: Theory, method and research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

  Note: The following are articles on evaluating methodological quality.

  Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field methods,18(1), 59-82.

  Mason, M. (2010). Sample size and saturation in PhD studies using qualitative interviews. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 11(3), article 8. Retrieved from http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqsMason, Mark (2010). Sample Size and Saturation in PhD Studies Using Qualitative Interviews [63 paragraphs]. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 11(3), Art. 8, http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs100387. Used under The Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

  Mauthner, N. S., & Doucet, A. (2003). Reflexive accounts and accounts of reflexivity in qualitative data analysis. Sociology, 37(3), 413–431. doi:10.1177/00380385030373002

  Shenton, A. K. (2004). Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects. Education for Information 22(2), 63-75.

  Note: The following are articles on specific research methods.

  Charmaz, K. (2016). The power of constructivist grounded theory for critical inquiry. Qualitative Inquiry, 23(1), 34–35. doi:10.1177/1077800416657105

  Ellis, C., Adams, T. E., & Bochner, A. P. (2010). Autoethnography: An overview. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 12(1), article 10. Retrieved from http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs

  Evans, G. L. (2013). A novice researcher’s first walk through the maze of grounded theory: Rationalization for classical grounded theory. Grounded Theory Review, 12(1), 37–55. Retrieved from http://groundedtheoryreview.com/

  Harling, K. (2012). An overview of case study. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2141476

  Higginbottom, G., Pillay, J. J., & Boadu, N. Y. (2013). Guidance on performing focused ethnographies with an emphasis on healthcare research. The Qualitative Report, 18(9), 1–6. Retrieved from http://tqr.nova.edu/

  Houghton, C., Casey, D., Shaw, D., & Murphy, K. (2013). Rigour in qualitative case-study research. Nurse Researcher, 20(4), 12–17. doi:10.7748/nr2013.03.20.4.12.e326

  Sloan, A., & Bowe, B. (2014). Phenomenology and hermeneutic phenomenology: The philosophy, the methodologies, and using hermeneutic phenomenology to investigate lecturers’ experiences of curriculum design. Quality & Quantity, 48(3), 1291–1303. doi:10.1007/s11135-013-9835-3