Cjus 750- discussion forum 1-reply1 | CJUS 750 – Qualitative Methods of Research | Liberty University

Reply must be 250 words and include citations from at least 1 scholarly sources. Each thread and reply must follow current APA format.

Glesne, C. (2016) Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction (5th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson. 

**TONI**

Discuss the various strategies for determining the appropriate qualitative research method for a study. 

James Rice and Marilyn Simon’s (n.d.) graph in the article “Choosing Your Research Method in a Nutshell” simplifies yet expands the many types of research possibilities.  For example, case study research requires the observation of groups to determine the reason a situation exists, and phenomenology attempts to understand the lived experience in terms of a specific phenomenon (Rice & Simon, n.d.).  However, the determination of the use of a specific qualitative method is dependent on several factors.  Foremost, a purpose statement is formulated, and questions arise from the statement and ultimately reflect the type of study (Simon, 2011).  The research question reflects the selection of the method and design (Simon, 2011).   The development of a method is what works in answering the research questions (O’Leary, 2005).  The research question is a guide as to what needs to be done and asked to finalize data collection methods to be utilized in the research (Glesne, 2016).  Of course, one must first decide on a topic, conduct a literature review, and perhaps a pilot study to try different research methods, writing in a journal to organize thoughts and ideas and research theoretical connections to the topic (Glesne, 2016).  

Provide specific examples from the required reading and presentation.  If you were to do a qualitative study for your dissertation, what method would you choose, and why?

Glesne’s (2016) example on page 43 provides the continuum for determining methodology beginning first with the research statement in which her statement began with ‘to understand and describe ways’ and determined the best method is ethnographic research.  Following the statement, she then provided two questions that began with ‘in what ways’ and ‘how’ (Glesne, 2016).  The methods included the review of literature, observations, interviews, and document collection (Glesne, 2016).  Since qualitative research is emergent and ongoing, the methodology choices may change or expand with derived research knowledge.  Glesne (2016) provides an example in which she worked with an environmental group in a Costa Rican fishing town.  She found that within that setting, various methodologies were possible in that the study began with conventional ethnography but expanded to community-based action research when she heard that indigenous people were losing access to land to foreigners due to a lack of land title (Glesne, 2016).  

Since qualitative research is exploratory, the goal of my dissertation is to determine if trauma is a by-product of criminality due to aggression and impulsivity commonly found in those with trauma backgrounds.  The goal is to develop and identify patterns of criminal backgrounds due to childhood trauma utilizing specific crimes committed in adulthood and context with traumatic experiences.  With that said, and as I begin to understand explicit methodologies, I am torn between several approaches.  The case study approach focuses on an event, process, and milieu of the individual (Center for Research Quality, 2015).  The objective is to determine if the lived experience of trauma led to crime and if so, in what ways (Center for Research Quality, 2015).  The other choice is grounded theory and although it is the least common, it seems fitting in that the researcher establishes relationships via interviews and observations and builds a theory based on phenomena (Ferrell, 2016).   

References

Center for Research Quality.  (2015, August 13).  Overview of Qualitative Research Methods [Video file].  Retrieved from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsAUNs-IoSQ&feature=youtu.be.

Ferrell, J.  (2016, June 6).  Types of Qualitative Research [Video file].  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptmxKTeCmDg&feature=youtu.be.

Glesne, C.  (2016).  Becoming Qualitative Researchers:  An Introduction.  Boston:  Pearson.  

Rice, J., & Simon, M.K.  Choosing Your Research Method in a Nutshell.  

Simon, M.K. (2011).  Dissertation and scholarly research:  Recipes for success.  Seattle:  Dissertation Success, LLC.  http://dissertationrecipes.com/.