RES 841_Assignment_Application of Qualitative Descriptive Design
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Application of Qualitative Descriptive Design
College of Doctoral Studies, Grand Canyon University
RES 841: Designing a Qualitative Study Design 1
Dr. Cipra
October 11, 2023,
Accommodated Date: October 25, 2023,
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Introduction
A qualitative (QUAL) descriptive design is a research strategy that explains a phenomenon or topic clearly and straightforwardly. This style is especially beneficial when the objective is to comprehend a subject entirely without relying on sophisticated theoretical interpretations (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). This paper aims to describe the creation of (a) a problem statement for QUAL descriptive research. It will employ descriptive design language following Grand Canyon University (GCU) approval guidelines. A comparable (b) purpose statement will be developed to fit the design decision and problem.
Furthermore, at least two relevant (c) research questions (RQs) for the proposed study are
suitably specified inside. Additionally, a feasibility study of the QUAL descriptive design is discussed. There is also an analysis of the study's alignment and QUAL descriptive design components. The design's fit to the suggested statement, purpose statement, RQs, and alignment will be discussed further. Thus, the thesis of this work demonstrated that adopting a QUAL descriptive design is acceptable for addressing the research subject and components for the suggested topic, Self-Empowerment: Challenges and Strategies for Obtaining Top-level Promotions. Finally, an argument that QUAL descriptive design can fulfill the approval conditions for research at GCU Core Qualitative. Phenomenon
The phenomenon for this study is women of color empowerment in top-level promotion. Population
The population for this study is women of color in the southeastern United States.
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Problem Statement
It is not known how women of color describe their gendered environments, and their ex-
periences shed light on the challenges and strategies they employed to empower themselves and drive change to obtain top-level promotions. Purpose Statement
The purpose of this qualitative descriptive is to explore how women of color describe their gendered environments, and their experiences shed light on the challenges and strategies they employed to empower themselves and drive change to obtain top-level promotions in the southeastern United States.
Research Questions
RQ1: How do women of color describe navigating gendered environments to obtain top-
level promotions? RQ2: How do women of color describe their strategies and challenges to empower themselves to obtain top-level promotions?
Feasibility
According to some authors, different variables such as skin color stratification (Hall, 2017), racial discrimination (White et al., 2023), racial trauma (Comas-Daiz et al., 2019), and occupational isolation (Tulshyan, 2022) can all have an impact on the psychological well-being of women of color. There is also a need for increased diversity in psychology to serve the needs and experiences of women of color (Huff, 2021). Although women of color, underrepresentation,
and self-empowerment are examined in various professions, existing research highlights the ubiquity and severity of gendered environments, strategies, and challenges that women of color
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encounter in achieving top-level progress. (Comas-Daiz et al., 2019) (Hall, 2017) C. Dezsö and Ross (2012). Despite extensive research into women of color's representation and various coping
strategies, it is unknown how women of color describe their gendered environments, and their experiences shed light on the challenges and strategies they employed to empower themselves and drive change to obtain top-level promotions. Therefore, assessing the feasibility of conducting a QUAL descriptive study involves considering various factors that can impact the successful execution of the research. Ultimately, the feasibility of conducting a QUAL descriptive study depends on the specific research context, goals, and available resources. It is critical to thoroughly review whether the descriptive design is
the most practicable and appropriate technique for answering research questions while evaluating
potential obstacles and answers. Therefore, getting familiarized with ethical guidelines and resources for conducting research is vital, especially if it involves human participants. Institutional Review Board (IRB) guidelines and the ethical principles outlined in documents like
the Belmont Report (Nagai et al., 2022) are essential references. Study Sample and Sampling Strategy
The population for this study is women of color in the southeastern United States. Therefore, getting an acceptable sample size is critical for a study design to guarantee that enough data is gathered for analysis (Marshall et al., 2013). The fact that the intended population
is tiny is a factor that might lower the size of the sample population. Another limiting aspect is the risk that an invitation to participate in the study will be denied, potential participants will be unavailable, or they will refuse to have their comments transcribed during the interview. GCU Core Qualitative Designs (2020) subjected a standard range for qualitative research of 10-15
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participants. However, this can vary based on the research objectives and the principle of data saturation, which GCU learners should pursue by at least twenty individuals. Indeed, designing a study focused on women of color's empowerment in obtaining top-
level promotions using a qualitative descriptive design must carefully consider the study sample and sampling strategy. Therefore, the researchers will seek two to three hundred women of color respondents for this dissertation study to get a representative sample of study participants. Furthermore, purposive or purposeful sampling selects participants who can provide rich, relevant information (Turale, 2020). Purposefully select participants who meet specific criteria, such as women of color who have reached top-level positions. This method ensures that the sample aligns with the research objectives. However, snowball sampling could be beneficial, too,
as it starts with a few participants who meet the study's criteria and ask them to refer others who fit the same criteria (Turale, 2020). This method helps identify hidden or less visible participants.
Recruiting Plan and Site Authorization
Assessing participant feasibility for a descriptive research design involves determining whether you can recruit a suitable sample of participants who meet your criteria and are willing to participate in your study. Descriptive research aims to describe and provide a detailed account of a phenomenon, population, or group without manipulating any variables. Are the potential participants readily available and willing to participate in the study? If recruitment is challenging, it may affect feasibility. Therefore, the researcher should determine whether the desired sample size is achievable within the resources and timeline. The feasibility of these methods depends on access to the population. As a result, researchers should assess whether they
can access and recruit participants from the target population. Considering the location, availability, and potential barriers to accessing the people is essential.
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Nevertheless, the GCU IRB standards include the recruiting email that provides adequate information to prospective participants and the option to engage in research. Furthermore, site authorization will be secured within twelve months of the start of the research and will include express consent for recruiting by the organization on signed letterhead (Kimmelman, 2020). The researcher must complete Site Authorization and get approval prior. The initial questionnaire in the recruiting email would allow the researcher to collect demographic information about prospective volunteers. After completing the questionnaire, participants will be assessed, and those who satisfy the inclusion criteria (women of color who obtain a top-level promotion) will be requested to participate in a one-hour interview. The researcher would reduce the time by conducting semi-structured interviews using Zoom and Microsoft Teams. In addition, fifteen to twenty prospective volunteers will be sought for one focus group. Interviews will be scheduled at
various interludes during the work week and on weekends to provide the flexibility required to satisfy the planned target population's unique schedule.
Data Sources, Collection, and Analysis
The data collection tools are also essential, confirming that the selected methods (e.g., interviews, surveys) are appropriate for gathering the data needed. The data collection and analysis techniques must be consistent with the philosophical, epistemological, and ontological assumptions behind the study (Bradshaw et al., 2017; as referenced in van Manen, 1998). In addition, researchers must demonstrate congruence between the questions presented and the technique used in their results (Bradshaw et al., 2017). This qualitative descriptive research will employ two data sources under Grand Canyon University's College of Doctoral Studies program criteria. The significant data source for the research will be a semi-structured interview. Interviews will run up to an hour for the researcher
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to get adequate input for saturation and meet the transcript criteria requirements. While in-person
interviews are typical in qualitative research, the target demographic works on a non-traditional schedule and the researcher hopes to meet scheduling demands by offering virtual participation. The second data source for the qualitative descriptive study will be a focus group of about ten to fifteen critical care nurses. In qualitative research, focus groups are frequently used to allow participants to contribute their subjective and personal views, feelings, and insights on the phenomena under investigation (Doyle et al., 2020).
Ethical Considerations
Another essential feasibility aspect for QUAL descriptive is ethical considerations. Ethical and practical concerns must be addressed if researchers intend to do a study. Bradshaw et
al. (2017) underline the researcher's need to address ethical concepts relevant to their work to demonstrate professional, legal, and social accountability. Therefore, to protect the participants and maintain the integrity of the study, a researcher must address a variety of ethical considerations before and during the research process. Alignment
As a result, to ensure the alignment of study components in research, researchers must carefully plan and design their study, ensuring that every area of the research is coherent and fulfills the overall research objectives. The problem space is the foundation of the study. It encompasses the scope and boundaries of the research problem and provides context for the study. Defining the problem space is a critical initial step in the research process, as it helps researchers focus their efforts and determine the relevant variables, concepts, and questions to
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investigate. As a result, there are some key elements to consider when defining the problem space in a research project.
It is essential that when gathering data in qualitative descriptive studies, researchers should remember that it aims to find the who, what, and where of events or experiences. Consequently, researchers might gather information through focus groups, individual interviews,
observation, and preserved records (Colorafi & Evans, 2016). Turale (2020) emphasized that an interview guide for qualitative descriptive research frequently comprises more focused questions than guidelines for other interpretive investigations. These questions must be thoroughly considered with an expert group and evaluated before being used with a small sample in pilot interviews. Furthermore, these inquiries should be driven by the 'who, what, where, and why' of an event or experience (Turale, 2020).
The research study would benefit most from a qualitative descriptive study. Unlike grounded theory, case study, or phenomenological methods, qualitative descriptive research focuses on participant accounts of events and personally held perspectives (Doyle et al., 2020). It
is not known how women of color describe their gendered environments, and their experiences shed light on the challenges and strategies they employed to empower themselves and drive change to obtain top-level promotions. To get this insight and fill the gap in the available literature, researchers must use a qualitative descriptive design study to capture and maintain focus on the description of whether women of color perceive self-empowerment as an effective strategy for mitigating challenges and barriers to obtaining a top-level promotion.
Data collection and analysis must be consistent, like the research objectives, problem space, technique, and design. Individual interviews and focus groups are standard approaches for
collecting data in qualitative descriptive research (Kim et al., 2017). Semi-structured interviews
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are commonly used in qualitative descriptive research to get open-ended input from participants on a specific issue in the participant's own words (DeJonckheere & Vaughn, 2019). Focus groups
are similar in that discussion characteristics are relevant to the study goal, but they differ in the amount of engagement of study participants. In this data-collecting strategy, study participants gather as a group to share their ideas, feelings, and points of view, allowing the researcher to observe the interaction and following discourse (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). This engagement frequently benefits the depth of debate, allowing researchers to attain data saturation. In contrast, thematic analysis is a qualitative tool used to examine transcribed interviews and focus group recordings. Thematic analysis is a commonly used qualitative analysis approach that is best defined as detecting, reporting, and evaluating patterns in qualitative data by assigning codes to parts of a text (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Given the epistemological and ontological differences in qualitative and quantitative techniques, thematic analysis helps researchers attain thematic saturation within data or the point where no new themes can be gathered from the data (DeJonckheere & Vaughn, 2019). In contrast to content analysis, thematic
analysis focuses on an entirely objective and data-rich study that considers patterns that may develop within the data (Doyle et al., 2020). By classifying the themes that arise during data collection, researchers may give a meaningful and comprehensive assessment of the phenomena.
Analysis
After assessing and evaluating the study feasibility, the study components must be aligned to consider the appropriateness of a given QUAL research design to a suggested problem
statement, purpose statement, and research questions. The descriptive design is appropriate for exploring and describing individual experiences and stories related to the experience of women of color who encountered and navigated gendered environments, and their experience shed light
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on the challenges and the strategies they employed to empower themselves and drive change to get a position at top-level promotions.
Therefore, applying a QUAL descriptive design will provide the researcher with information based on factual and rich descriptive content from the participants' perspectives, making this design an excellent methodological choice. The advantages of this QUAL descriptive design include the flexibility and variability in the research process, data collection is
inexpensive for it only requires a small sampling size, data provides detailed information, and the
design allows for a real-world setting data collection process (GCU Core QUAL Designs, 2020). Apart from this, the need for this QUAL descriptive research study will serve as the path for industrial and organizational to pay more attention to alternative approaches and create a better support pathway for women of color to obtain top-level management. This QUAL descriptive design will provide organizations with data to generate knowledge that can be utilized to build interventions and better programs to help women of color transition from entry-level to top-level management positions. Merriam & Tisdell (2016) describe a QUAL research study as simple and carefully planned. The design examines the objective, gaps in the seminal literature, availability, and accessibility of the sample population. These considerations also include data sources, the availability of standardized instruments, and the implementation of proper statistical analysis (GCU Core QUAL Designs, 2020). To establish which design is the best match for the issue statement, purpose statement, and RQs, it is beneficial to examine numerous designs (GCU Core QUAL Designs, 2022) and pick the right design ("fit") for addressing the researcher's probe. As a result, the design must include a strong issue description that is clear and simple..
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As a result, a descriptive QUAL research design is appropriate if the researcher aims to study the experiences of small group members in order to achieve an in-depth, rich knowledge of
phenomena (GCU Core QUAL Designs, 2022). Depending on what the researcher needs to discover about descriptions and viewpoints, this study will be essential to answer the investigator's RQs. Furthermore, it solves the how and why and is desirable since it analyzes and delivers more profound insights into real-world situations (Tenny et al., 2022). Additionally, the study strategy for answering RQs is determined by what the researcher wishes to discover about descriptions, viewpoints, or experiences. Furthermore, addressing the RQs for descriptive QUAL
research may include focus groups and one-on-one interviews with participants in which the researcher must ask pre-authorized and prepared open-ended questions to delve into the depths of phenomena. These interview questions will also be based on what the researcher wants to learn from the participants about their experiences with particular phenomena.
Conclusion
In conclusion, analysis, a qualitative description technique, allows for collecting rich descriptions of phenomena about which little is known. Throughout the process, the researcher seeks to keep near the surface of the data and events, where the experience is recounted from the participants' perspective (Bradshaw et al., 2017). Nevertheless, feasibility studies can help researchers decide whether to proceed, modify the project scope, or seek additional resources before starting the analysis. As a result, throughout the research process, it is essential to maintain a clear and logical thread connecting all study components, ensuring that each part contributes to the overall coherence and alignment of the research project.
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