The ENZYME Database in 2000, Essay Example

One of the most important aspects of effective qualitative research is usefulness. It is important for researchers to design studies with a concrete purpose in mind and to understand how this purpose can positively contribute to their field. There are many interesting questions that have not been answered by current research, but it is important to consider that many of these questions are not highly important. Researchers benefit by prioritizing answering the questions that have the most meaning to society. For example, it would be interesting to determine how certain biological proteins work (Bairoch, 2000). However, if they are not known to interact with other proteins or contribute to disease through association, function, or dysfunction, studying them would not have a useful application.

In the study provided on page 164, it appears that the qualitative research being conducted is useful (Creswell, 2014). However, it is not being conducted in a manner that makes the results of the experiment useful. Since only five students are being studied, we cannot reasonably assume that the results of the study are externally valid (Hamer & Collinson, 2005). While the study is useful to specifically understand the needs of these students, this information cannot be used in any other context. Therefore, it would be beneficial for the study to be altered in a manner that allows it to be more useful to the research community. It is likely that other education researchers share an interest in this type of project. Altering the experimental design in a manner that would appeal to the interests of these individuals would therefore be a beneficial practice and make the experiment itself more useful.

References

Bairoch, A. (2000). The ENZYME database in 2000. Nucleic Acids Research, 28(1): 304–305

Creswell, J. (2014). Research design (4th ed.). Thousand Oakes, California: Sage Publications, Inc. [CourseSmart version]. Retrieved from http://www.coursesmart.com

Hamer, S. & Collinson, G. (2005). Achieving evidence based practice: A handbook for practitioners. (2nd ed.). New York City, New York: Baillere Tindale.