A500.6.3.RB- Qualitative research

In a scholarly setting, the term quantitative research is a commonly known tool used to understand science based studies to measure and test hypotheses and specific research questions. However, a lesser known method exists that is quite different, yet very useful called qualitative research… but what is it? Hoepfl (1997) states that, "qualitative methods are appropriate in situations where one needs to first identify the variables that might later be tested quantitatively, or where the researcher has determined that quantitative measures cannot adequately describe or interpret a situation. Research problems tend to be framed as open-ended questions that will support discovery of new information." One of the main purposes to do qualitative research is to discover ideas, so having a general research objective is an acceptable way to start to learn about a topic. Exploration and discovery are the primary goals of this inductive research.

 According to Hoepfl (1997), "phenomenological inquiry, or qualitative research, uses a naturalistic approach that seeks to understand phenomena in context-specific settings" in order to synthesize new ways of relating and understanding topics of interest. Typically, this is approached in a manner where the researcher observes and interprets the information and situations in an organic manner. Variables are considered complex, interwoven and difficult to measure, as feelings and emotions are permitted to be explored. This also can allow for an understanding of different perspectives between groups or categories of people.

The approach to collecting the data is unstructured and is carried out in free form. In depth interviews, observing participants, writing field notes and asking open-ended questions are often methods in which a researcher will collect data. This type of data collection gives the researcher words, images and categories to understand their discovery. The sample sizes are small and are often in a natural setting. This creates an environment that allows for behavior to be fluid, situational, social and contextual. The researcher is intimately involved in the process, instead of being removed to maintain objectivity, like with quantitative research.

 Results in qualitative research are subjective, thus making the researcher a human instrument and trustworthiness is a paramount part of the criteria. Once the data is collected, analysis of the data is a process where the researcher will search for patterns and themes, which will become documented in a write-up created by the researcher. Hopefully at this point, the researcher will have developed an initial understanding of an issue or a problem.

Hoepfl (1997) synthesizes the basic elements of the qualitative research method:

Qualitative research uses the natural setting as the source of data.
The researcher acts as the "human instrument" of data collection.
Qualitative researchers predominantly use inductive data analysis.
Qualitative research reports are descriptive, incorporating expressive language
Qualitative research has an interpretive character, aimed at discovering the meaning events have for the individuals who experience them, and the interpretations of those meanings by the researcher.
 Qualitative researchers pay attention to the idiosyncratic as well as the pervasive, seeking the uniqueness of each case.
Qualitative research has an emergent (as opposed to predetermined) design, and researchers focus on this emerging process as well as the outcomes or product of the research.
Qualitative research is judged using special criteria for trustworthiness

Overall, qualitative research is uniquely unalike the more commonly known, quantitative research. The use of qualitative research has important differences that can allow us to uncover underlying motivations and factors that influence decisions making and opinions and so much more.

 

Reference: Hoepfl, M. (1997). Choosing qualitative research: a primer for technology education researchers. In M. Sanders (Ed.), Journal of Technology Education, 9(1). Retrieved from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v9n1/hoepfl.html

 

A500.5.3.RB- Critical thinking about critical thinking

As I lay here, sick and overcome with the same crud that has been plaguing my friends and family around me, I have not much else to do than succumb to slowing down and allowing my body time to heal. This has given way to much thinking during my waking hours. It has been one month and one day since I began MSLD 500 and have been introduced to critical thinking. I have spent some time reflecting on my critical thinking competencies like where I started and how far I have come. I have even thought about what it means to me and why I do it. Before I formally learned any of the critical thinking processes, I had an open mind and great intentions to survey the world around me. Since I did not see critical thinking as a systematic whole I was going about it in such a disorganized manner. It is kind of like throwing darts at paint filled balloons, sometimes I would hit one but a lot of times I just missed. It sounds fun but I was not getting anywhere.

Learning to think things through: A guide to critical thinking across the curriculum by Gerald M. Nosich really brought critical thinking into my forefront and gave me a sense of understanding that helped me eliminate the chaotic and sporadic thinking I had been involved in and gave me a solid foundation of methods. A brief overview: The elements of reasoning can be diagrammed by taking a circle and cutting it into eight pie wedges and assigning these elements to its own section. The elements are purpose, questions at issue, assumptions, implications/consequences, information, concepts, conclusions/interpretations and point of view. These elements are also surrounded by context and alternatives. There is no one correct place to start in the circle. Spin the wheel and start where you are comfortable depending on the issue. These are then applied to the standards of critical thinking which are clearness, accuracy, importance/relevance, sufficiency, depth, breadth and precision which act like filters to eliminate anything that does not meet the criteria. There is more behind the idea of critical thinking; however, this is a good place to start in explaining how learn to think critically.

Previous to my familiarity with critical thinking I was engaging in some of the elements and some of the standards on my own. However, it is impractical to think one can simply think their way through an issue using those guidelines if you have never learned them as a comprehensive unit. It is almost impossible to do something without knowing about it. Since having the opportunity to learn them, I have adopted them into my daily practice. Critical thinking for me is something I practice throughout each day and I do it at home, at work, when I watch TV, when I am out doing errands or simply enjoying leisure time. Back to my mention of critical thinking during television, it is kind of brilliant because I am getting so much better thinking through who did it and I am getting really good at being right! It is a wonderful way to open a new window of thought and allows you to see things you may not have realized where there at all. I think for many people and especially for me, there can be hesitance due to doubt in incorporating a new way of thinking. I feel that I am a generally receptive person, but doubt can cloud your judgment and reasons for wanting to do something differently and can make you erase the idea altogether. It seems easier to deny something different, safer even.

The main thing for me is that I feared I would be able to do it or that I would even be good at it. It is like green eggs and ham; I just had to try it to know for sure. Oh, and I did try it… and just like Sam-I-Am, I liked it! Another factor for me is embracing the fact that developing my critical thinking would be good for me. This reminds me of my personal struggle with vegetables all the way through young adulthood. I really like asparagus but there are other vegetables to contend with, like broccoli. A simple avoidance would have been preferable to me because I was under the misguided perception that broccoli is served steamed, mushy and disgusting. It is just completely displeasing to me. The great thing about learning about the world around us is that you find out there are other ways to do things. Once I realized you could keep broccoli in a raw state and make broccoli salad, mixed in with other ingredients that complimented its flavor it transformed my thought of vegetables altogether. It was amazing; freeing even, that I did not have to do the one size fits all routine. I could make it my own, something that works for me and my preferences. I think critical thinking can do that, too. If you use it as a tool for your own purposes it becomes useful rather than compulsory.

For me critical thinking is important because you can be skeptical without being cynical, open-minded without being indecisive, analytical without being discriminating, decisive without being stubborn and evaluate without being judgmental. I truly feel like you can begin to unlock the world around you when you think critically, or as the Nosich text points out, think effectively. One probably cannot become a critical thinking master in one month’s time, but I know regular practice is something I am willing to do. I personally think you can constantly push and grow yourself to be better and I do not want how I do my thinking to be an exception.

Reference: Nosich, G. M. (2012). Learning to think things through: a guide to critical thinking across the curriculum (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

A500.4.3.RB- Ballet Slippers or Adorable?

Sheena Iyengar studies choices, how we make them and what makes us think we are good at it. She gave a presentation at the TEDGlobal conference on "The Art of Choosing" that raised some assumptions worth reflecting upon. Her research highlighted upon the ideas that we as Americans believe that we should make our own choices, the more options we have the better our choices will be and that we should never say no to choice.  I found these ideas to be eye opening on a personal level, something I have never considered up until listening to her speak on choices. I think there is an importance to consider how these assumptions factor into the possible effects within the realm of leadership, too. I have never consciously realized that not everyone gets to make decisions and choices the way I do in my personal life, in my town, in my state, in my country or in the world. If I placed myself at one end, representing the smallest point and the world at the other, representing the largest and examined the spectrum in context, I see that the further away I am removed from myself the more different choice can be for an individual. I lost sight of the freedoms that I have as an American, in particular, not to mention other factors like the time period in which I was raised and currently live.

The first concept is that we should make our own choices. More specifically, Iyengar (2010) explains that we feel that if a choice affects you, you should be the one to make the decision, as it is the only way to ensure for interests or preferences to be fully accounted for. For me personally, I automatically agreed upon hearing this, thinking: “Well of course I should make my own choices, no one else is as equipped to decide for me as I am.” Apparently this is a major sticking point with me. If I had my way, I would want to be consulted with for every option that touched my life including the new stoplight on the street that I live. When I realize this is how I feel, I see how impractical this can be. I am not an expert on road engineering, nor can I account for others that also use the same street. I am fiercely protective on choosing for myself and the sense of independence and control it allows me to feel. Though I am more inflexible in regards to decision making in my home life, the impact it can have in my work life or leadership context has not escaped my attention. If a group of people representing an organization gathered together and only chose in regards to pleasing themselves, that would wreck havoc in terms of inefficiency and create chaos, potentially. It is important to understand the underlying mission statement and work being carried out; then using choice to best compliment those goals. A good leader can take into account varying human factors and guide choices that will be in line with what is intended to be accomplished.

The second assumption that Sheena Iyengar chronicles is that the more choices you have, the more likely you are to make the better choice. I find this fundamentally flawed and take issue with this statement. I love choices. I am probably a terrible decision maker when presented with too many choices. For example, when I moved into a house that I no longer rented and became able to decorate in any manner that would be pleasing to me, either temporary or permanent, I flat out rejoiced boastfully that I was going to paint the walls and not have to look at another of my adopted mother’s variation of beige paint colored walls. In line with the first assumption that since I have to see these walls daily, I am the best person to pick the color; however, the second assumption of having all the colors one could chemically dream up to choose from has left me at a loss. Three years into living in my home, every single wall is still regular, plain white. I have had a myriad of options taped onto my wall and I just cannot commit. The same could be said for my diet. I love soda and know that visibly it is not doing me any favors. If given every option possible, instead of selecting the healthier water or green tea, I would go for soda every time. In my opinion the better choice is being made, the better choice for flavor, that is, not health. My impulsivity, even with having the ability to understand the detriments of my actions shows how this is not necessarily a positive option for people as individuals or in a collective. It is easy to see poor decision making all around with defaults on home loans, legal sentences for breaking laws and health issues spanning from fast food to illegal substances.

Something else to consider within this same arena is that even if you are able curb those whims, how can you make the best decision when you are flooded with so many products, biased reviews and advertising that can be misleading or not fully informative? I attempted to procure a home computer prior to beginning my Master of Science in Leadership program and was overwhelmed and inundated with all of the choices, though my intentions were purely to pick the best item for the best value. Iyengar (2010) does point out that “unlimited choices seem more attractive in theory than in practice.” In my opinion, that if too many options are problematic on an individual level then it would be equally daunting in an amplified context of the affects on a group of people. I think too many options on how a group would want to move forward on a project, for example could cause problems. It does not seem necessary or effective to vote on fifty choices, opposed to perhaps, three solid, well-founded choices narrowed down by those in a leadership role.

Lastly, you should never say no to choice. Iyenagar (2010) makes it clear that she feels that ‘not saying no to choice’ seems to be the most problematic of the assumptions. While I feel that I understand the line of thinking in which this was derived, likely closely tied to the first assumption that you should make your own choices, it gives way to thinking that can be clouded with logical fallacies. Instead of feeling forced to make a choice between limited options, or even too many, it is okay to decline from deciding at all. It also may be in your best interest to allow someone more qualified on the issue to inform you on the best option and then trust in their counsel. For example, it could be wise to submit to a doctor or a lawyer’s opinions.  I think it is dangerous for someone to feel trapped in making choices. I think this is very important to keep in mind when you working within a team environment. I think it sets the individual and team up for potential fallibility of feeling that there is urgency to make a decision alone. For me, I think earlier on in my career I felt like I was not attending to my job duties if I were tasked with making a decision and  didn’t make one on my own. I would not have seen declining from choice as a viable avenue. If presented with two bad options, I would pick the lesser of the two evils, which does not mean you make the correct choice of the two. It is important to remember to impress upon the culture of a group that it is okay to look for better options, you do not need to feel like you have to take the first option that comes along and that it is okay to discuss the options together. Two heads are better than one.

I was truly delighted to be able to watch another great TED presentation and found Sheena Iyengar inspiring and captivating. I encourage anyone interested to view her presentation, which can be located by following the information below found in my reference section. On a side note, the title of the presentation is Ballet Slippers or Adorable and references a decision on choosing a light shade of nail polish. Being the nail polish enthusiast that I am and a naturally curious mind I guessed that it these were Essie brand colors and was correct. I had to see for myself their similarity and what my preference would be so I went to the store to compare them for fun. In my opinion I prefer Ballet Slippers because it is a true light pink, whereas Adorable (actually Adore-a-ball) is more of a neutral. Fun fact, which is not an Appeal to Authority, it has been said that Queen Elizabeth II has worn Ballet Slippers since 1989.

Reference:  Iyengar, S. (2010) The art of choosing. TEDGlobal.
retrieved from: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/sheena_iyengar_on_the_art_of_choosing.html