Qualitative Methods
Design Your Study
Step Six: Develop a Realistic Timeframe or Work Plan
There is no short cut to high quality research. It is essential to allow for enough time for each phase of the process. Once you have completed steps one through five of designing your study, you can now plot out a work plan.
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, "Best Advice I've Received" Professor Jerome Crowder]
Tasks to be accomplished
Written proposal
If you are a thesis or dissertation student or applying for a grant, you will need to write up a formal research proposal. Your proposal will basically outline exactly what you plan to do AND the rationale for why your project is important. Each discipline has somewhat different guidelines as to how a proposal should be written so it is best to work closely with your advisor. If you are applying for a grant it is extremely important to read the request for proposals (RFP) very carefully as most application processes are very specific.
Human Subjects Approval
The human subjects process includes writing up a detailed application explaining your methodology in detail as well as your consent process scripts, forms, and letters. Specific guidelines for UH students and faculty can be found at: http://www.research.uh.edu/OCG/Preaward/CPHS/CPHS2.html
Gaining Access
- "High Risk Population Challenges," Alice Cepeda
If you are conducting a participant observation study, you will need to allow time to gain entre to your setting. Some organizations will have their own IRB that must approve your study too (in addition to UH's approval) before you can conduct research at their site.
If you are conducting an interview study, it often takes a while to identify appropriate individuals to interview. And after you find them, you still need to get their consent to be interviewed and arrange a time and place for the interview. This logistical aspect of research often takes much longer than researchers anticipate.
If you are conducting a cultural study, you will need to gain access to the collections or publications you wish to view. Copyright issues must be addressed for some studies, especially if you'd like to include a copy of an advertisement or media image in your final paper.
If you are conducting a visual study, the above logistical issues will apply but you will also need to address issues of consent more fully. When visual methods are used, confidentiality of the subject is usually compremised so the consent process is more complicated.
Collecting Data
Try to be realistic about how much time it will take to collect all your data. If you want to conduct twenty interviews, it is unlikely that you will be able to accomplish them in twenty days. Scheduling with today's busy life styles makes this almost impossible. Estimate how long you think it will take and then double it to be on the safe side.
Analyzing Data
Analyzing qualitative data because of the sheer volume of it will take quite a while. You need to plan on time to read and reflect on all your transcripts, fieldnotes, documents, etc. You may want to go over them a number of times. Some researchers suggest that you plan to spend as much, and perhaps twice as much, time analyzing your data as you spent collecting it. That is, if you spend three months in the field, you should plan on three to six months of analysis.
Writing
The time you will need for writing will depend upon how familiar and comfortable you are with writing up qualitative research. Some people enjoy writing and it flows for them. Others find writing painful and slow. Whatever your orientation to writing is, be sure to allow time to revise and revise some more. Good writing is dependent upon revising.
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