Week 4 – Discussion 

Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

Research Design:   Quantitative and Qualitative Methods. [WLOs: 1, 2, 3] [CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6]

Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read Chapter 8 and review Chapter 9 of the course text. Also, review the following resources:

Visual

Documentary

Oral History

This discussion supports your understanding and application of the quantitative method and qualitative method of research approach. In your initial post, address the following:

• Differentiate between      randomized and nonrandomized approaches to sampling populations. Discuss      the importance of the role of sampling when conducting research. 
  • Snowball sampling is a form of       sampling where participants recommend people they know as research       participants. Explain one pro and one con to this approach.
  • Discuss the usefulness of       pretesting, pilot testing, or field-testing a survey or interview       questionnaire.
  • In some large-scale research       projects the researcher is not always the one collecting data but is more       heavily involved in the analysis and interpretation of the data. Would       this create a challenge in a quantitative study where a survey was used       for data collection? Would this scenario create a challenge in a       qualitative study where a one-to one interview or focus group data       collection method was used? Explain why or why not for both scenarios.
  • As you experienced in the Week       3 assignment, qualitative methods research can encompass some interesting       forms of research approach to help us understand the human experience in       society, such as ethnography. In the resources this week we asked you to       review three other forms of approach that help us understand in unique       ways: visual, documentary, and oral history.
  • After reviewing the resources       provided, describe each form of approach. Explain their unique       differences and similarities.
  • What is gained by conveying       human experience via visual or audio as opposed to a written       interpretation?
  • Which form of approach did you       find the most compelling in sharing the experience of humans in society?       Explain why.
  • Do you think that these forms       of visual and audio data evidence could be more powerful for influencing       social change and public policy than written or statistical data? Explain       your response.

Your initial post should be at least 800 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references.

Guided Response: Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7. In your responses, be sure to note any interesting aspects of their response, such as their view on the pros and cons of snowball sampling and their varied views on the visual, documentary and oral history forms of qualitative research. Your responses should be at least 200 words in length.