Exercises for Qualitative Researchers, Essay Example

Background

Interviews were conducted on three individuals. The interviews asked the respondent to describe a person that he/she admired, and explain why he/she selected that person and why he/she admired that person. This interview was conducted to answer the research question of “what theory guides people’s selection of persons that they admire?” Qualitative analysis was conducted using the grounded theory tradition. The results and analysis of the interviews are discussed in the succeeding section.

Basic output

All three interviewees completed their respective interviews. Codenames I1, I2, and I3 were given to each of the respondents in coding and analyzing the interview data. I1 identified Maxine Waters as the person I1 admired. Maxine Waters was described as the congresswoman of “35th District of California” and the “most powerful and outgoing woman in Congress.” I2 identified his/her father as the person admired. I3 identified Helen Steiner Rice, “an American writer of religious and inspirational poems” as the person admired.

Emergent themes

A number of themes emerged from the interviews. The most dominant theme found that was related to how the respondents selected the people that they admired was actions. That is, people admired their choices because of the concrete actions that were committed by those selected individuals. The specific actions themselves differed from one respondent to the next, but actual activity seemed critical to the choice of admiring the person. I1 narrated that one reason why he/she admired Maxine Waters was that the congresswoman canvassed “for women, children, African Americans and the underprivileged” and fought for “the people she (served).” Also, I1 narrated how Maxine Waters but the greater good first when she cancelled a meeting with I1 to “to attend to a crisis in Washington.” For I1, this action showed “dedication to the people she serves.” I2 implied that he/she admired his/her father because he “worked and sent us all to college,” “always made sure that (they) had what was needed to the best of his ability,” and “took care of (them) during (their) mother’s sickness.” I3 discussed how he/she selected Helen Steiner Rice because he/she found comfort in reading the poems that the author wrote. She shared one poem that gave the respondent “daily motivation to accept the recent changes in (his/her) life and stay (focused) in pursuing (his/her) short and long term goals.” This input of I3 also relates to the second major theme found in the analysis, which is reaction. That is, people who are admired by the respondents drive the respondents to react in some way. For I3, the poems of Helen Steiner Rice drive her to face her world and the problems that she has in it. For I1, Maxine Waters’ actions made him/her want to “get into public service in (his/her) community” and “follow in (Maxine Waters’) footsteps.” For I2, his/her admiration of his/her father causes him/her to miss him dearly.

There was one theme that was found from the responses of two out of three of the respondents. Between I1 and I2, a common theme for admiration was found to be character. I1 said that he/she admired Maxine Waters because she was an “outspoken person” who was “not afraid to take a stand on what is right” and had strong “work ethics and “fight” inside her. On the other hand, I2 implied that he/she admired his/her father for showing them the values of working hard and not depending on other people. That is, being independent and responsible.

Theory

Based on the themes provided, some theoretical inferences may be drawn on how people come to select persons that they admire. Foremost in the dynamics found grounded in the responses was that the person admired must have done something that is considered noteworthy by the person who admires him or her. That is, it is critical that there is some action committed for admiration to be felt towards a person. The admiration is hinged on what the person did more than who the person is. Specifically, I2 admired his father not just because he was his/her father, I1 did not admire Maxine Waters just because Waters is a congresswoman and I3 did not admire Helen Steiner Rice just because she was a known writer. There are other people in congress, other writers, and other parents, elder relatives. The respondents selected who they selected specifically because those people did things that made an impact to them. This leads to the second part of the dynamic which is reaction. Actions lead to reactions. The person is moved to react in some way by what actions he/she perceives from the individual who he/she would come to admire. It is therefore theorized that it is not just action that leads a person to admire another, but action that evokes a reaction from the person that does lead him/her to admire the individual. This means that it is possible that I3 has read the poems of other writers and that these writers, but it was the poems of Helen Steiner Rice that spoke to her enough to make her face the challenges of her life and try to persevere through them. There are many politicians who may have done many things during their time in office and I1 may be aware of these activities, but it is the actions of Maxine Waters that actually made her want to work in public service herself. Other relatives may have contributed to the well-being of I2, but it was his father who contributed in a way that made him/her strove to become responsible and independent.

Evidence of quality and experienced challenges

Quality was sought in this analysis by reviewing the data multiple times, and comparing notes with a partner in order to see if the same or similar themes emerged. Furthermore, coding and analysis was conducted according to the guidelines provided by Janesick (2011), to ensure that the procedures were done correctly. Nevertheless, some challenges in conducting the analysis were still experienced. One major challenge is the sparse data that was gathered. Since the respondents were only asked two questions, an in-depth probe of their initial answers was not conducted. As a result, the study had a limited amount of data to work with. If the respondents were asked sub-questions in line with their initial responses, more specific data would have been gathered which may have allowed more comprehensive analysis. Another problem encountered was the lack of saturation. As discussed by Creswell (2007), it is important in a qualitative study for saturation of data gathering to be reached in order to ensure that all of the possible responses have been captured. However, after finishing coding the responses of the last interviewee, it was found that there were many categories where only one of the participants had input in. These categories seemed promising as possible themes, but there were not enough data to support them as such. If more interviews were conducted, more themes could have been drawn out and a more comprehensive theory could have been developed.

Conclusion

A grounded theory for the dynamic of how people select persons that they admire was developed. Persons were found to admire individuals based on their positively perceived actions that cause positive reactions from them. Measures were taken to ensure the quality of the analysis, but there were not sufficient data to ensure the completeness of the grounded theory drawn.

References

Janesick, V. (2011). “Stretching” exercises for qualitative researchers (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Creswell, J. (2007). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. Sage Publications, Inc.