To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review the Learning      Resources related to qualitative research and consider the reasons      researchers choose qualitative research methods for exploring a phenomenon      of interest.
• Use the Course Guide and Assignment      Help in the Learning Resources to help you search for other books,      encyclopedias, or articles that introduce and describe qualitative      research.

Consider the statement:

Qualitative researchers study people in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them.

Using the Learning Resources and other academic sources you found, expand on this simple statement. In 3–4 paragraphs, explain several dimensions of this paradigm that make qualitative research interesting and unique. Be sure to use the terminology you are learning (including but not limited to “phenomena”, “constructivist,” and “naturalistic”), and provide historical context.

Be sure to support your main post and response post with reference to the week’s Learning Resources and other scholarly evidence in APA style. 

Learning Resources

Required Readings

Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2021). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological (2nd ed.) Sage Publications.

• Chapter 1, “Qualitative      Research: An Opening Orientation” (pp. 1–29)

Erickson, F. (2011). Chapter 3: A history of qualitative inquiry in social and educational research. In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 43–58). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y.S. (2013). Chapter 1: Introduction: The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In The landscape of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 1–44). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/17670_Chapter1.pdf

Yob, I., & Brewer, P. (n.d.). Working toward the common good: An online university’s perspectives  on social change, 1-25.

Walden University Library. (n.d.). Course guide and assignment help for RSCH 8310. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/rsch8310

Use this website to search for books, encyclopedias, or articles based on the requirements for the Discussion and/or Assignment.

Document: Video Field Notes Guide (Word document)

Use this guide to help you as you take notes for your Scholar of Change video.

Document: Major Assignment 1: Developing a Research Topic for a Qualitative Study Overview and Guidelines (PDF)

Use this document to guide you through your Major Assignment 1 for this course.

Document: Major Assignment 2: The Analysis and Interpretation of Qualitative Data Overview and Guidelines (PDF)

Use this document to guide you through your Major Assignment 2 for this course.