Research Design Portfolio: Documents student’s engagement with course materials, outside

research, and review of five major qualitative research designs. Provides a review 5 major
research design types ethnography, phenomenological, grounded theory, narrative/historiography,
case study to include: 1) a photocopy of a model of each type of research design from scientific
journals or published manuscripts; 2) a short (2-3 pages) review discussion of each of the
exemplary models and 3) a final discussion (2-3 pages) of the strengths and limitations of design
types used in qualitative research.

Readings: Creswell: Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Traditions;
other outside readings and examples of “models” of research, as appropriate.

Include the following sections adapted to your selected reading (model) for 5 traditional design
types:

Research Design Portfolio

I. Table of Contents
II. Research Design (2-3 pages each)
1. Ethnography/Field Observation
A. Observational (Field) Research (definition and notes)
B. Steps in the Research Process
1. gaining entré
2. building rapport
3. relationships in the field: establishing, maintaining, sustaining
C. Ethical/Sensitivity Considerations
D. Credibility of data (validating results)
E. Models in the Literature (review and chapter or journal article)
1. Model (e.g. Elliot Liebow, Tell Them Who I Am)
2. Discuss the strength, limitations and appropriate uses of each approach
to research.
ETHNOGRAPHY/FIELD OBSERVATION
The purpose of ethnography is to describe how a culture-sharing group functions
(Creswell 2007). Ethnography is a qualitative research method that focuses upon an entire
cultural-sharing group (Creswell 2007). Ethnographic researchers observe, describe, and
interpret shared and learned patterns of behaviors, beliefs, languages, and values of a culture-
sharing group (Creswell 2007). Ethnographic researchers engage in field observation or
participant observation of culture-sharing groups in their natural environment to examine and
objectively report the observed behavior, interaction, language, and values of the culture-sharing
group, and produce a written product that may contain a narrative written in the third person from
the perspective of the researchers (Creswell 2007).
Ethnographic researchers gain entre to culture-sharing groups and establish, maintain,
and sustain relationships in the field by respecting the individuals in the population (Creswell
2007). Respecting individuals in the population increases the likelihood that the researcher will
build rapport with the participants and the gatekeepers of the culture-sharing group (Creswell
2007). Researcher rapport encourages the participants to provide detailed perspectives about the
culture-sharing group (Creswell 2007). Ethnographic researchers gain permission from a human
subjects review board, have participants sign a consent form if required, and inform participants
of the purpose of the study (Creswell 2007).
 The procedures for engaging in ethnographic research involves determining if
ethnography is the appropriate design for examining the research problem, identifying a culture-
sharing group to examine, selecting cultural themes or issues to analyze about the culture-sharing
group, determining the type of ethnographic research to engage in, such as realist ethnography or
critical ethnography, gathering data by engaging in fieldwork, and establishing a cultural portrait
of the group that incorporates the perspectives of both the participants and the researcher in the
final product (Creswell 2007). The data is then analyzed through a description of the culture-
sharing group’s common themes (Creswell 2007).
The procedure for writing the final product of an ethnographic research study begins with
an introduction that should engage the reader’s attention and introduce the purpose and thesis of
the study (2007). Next, the final product should introduce the setting and methodology of the
study, which should include the advantages and constraints of the ethnographic researcher’s role
in the study (Creswell 2007). Then the final product should present the analytic claims (Creswell
2007). The research should conclude the final product by elaborating on the thesis and extending
the thesis to include a theoretical relation (Creswell 2007).

1. Introduction (problem, questions)

2. Research procedures (ethnography, data collection, analysis, outcomes)
3. Description of culture
4. Analysis of cultural themes
5. Interpretation, lessons learned, questions raised

Linda M. Burton’s (1997) research question asks, how does ethnography help us to
understand adolescent development among ethnic minority teens growing up in high-risk
neighborhoods? Burton’s (1997) research problem regarded the influence of high-risk
neighborhoods upon the developmental processes of ethnic minority teens, of which little is
known about. Burton (1997) followed proper ethnographic procedures for this study and the
written report.
Burton (1997) began the introduction of the final report by making a case for
ethnography as a primary mechanism to examine the research problem. Burton (1997) argued
that ethnography provided the conceptual and methodological grounding necessary to identify
and evaluate the impact of culture, context, and meanings ethnic minorities growing up in high-
risk neighborhoods attach to adolescence compared to teens growing up in mainstream contexts.
Burton (1997) includes the purpose and of the study in the introduction, which is to
ethnographically investigate whether high-risk neighborhoods influence the developmental
processes of ethnic minority teens (Burton 1997). Burton (1997) defined high-risk neighborhoods
as residential communities characterized by high crime and poverty rates, environmental hazards,
geographic isolation, residential instability, inadequate housing, low-quality schooling, and scarce
social service and economic resources.
Burton’s (1997) methodology for this ethnographic study involved the systematic
utilization of multiple qualitative strategies to identify and collect data regarding contextual
norms of the culture-sharing group. The strategies employed including field observations, focus
groups, life-history interviews of 186 African American teens and their families, in-depth
interviews with ministers, school officials, health care providers, school counselors, grass-roots
political activists, and informal community leaders, participant observations of family activities,
and content analysis of local newspapers; the design yielded sufficient data. The study lasted five
years (Burton 1997). Data for this study was collected by seven African American field
researchers (Burton 1997).
The main focus of the study was to present main themes and makes analytic claims
regarding insights into how ethnic minority teens perceive adolescence in high-risk
neighborhoods in comparison to mainstream teens (Burton 1997). The collected data was
transcribed and analyzed based upon the grounded theory approach, which is a style of analyzing
qualitative data using a specific coding scheme to generate a profile of conceptual themes and
relationships among variable that emerge in the data (Burton 1997). The main themes that the
study generated included accelerated life course, diffuse age hierarchies, and inconsistent role
expectations within families and other social institutions (Burton 1997). For each main theme,
Burton (1997) made an analytic claims, such as teens growing up in high-risk neighborhoods
commonly have the perspective that he or she has a foreshortened life expectancy, that the
distribution of leadership responsibilities, power, authority, decision making, respect, and access
to resources are determined on the basis of an individual’s age, the stage in the life course is
inconclusive, and that teens growing up in high-risk neighborhoods experience inconsistent
expectations between parents and social institutions regarding the roles of children and teens.
Burton (1997) concludes the written reporty by reifying the thesis and suggesting that further
ethnographic research is required to gain a better understanding of teens in high-risk
neighborhoods.

2. Biography/Life History/Oral Narratives

A. Life History Research (definition and notes)
B. Steps in the Research Process
1. gaining entrée and building rapport
2. designing the instrument
3. conducting the interview
C. Ethical/Sensitivity Considerations
D. Credibility/Validation of data
E. Models in the Literature (review and chapter or journal article)
4. Model 1 (e.g. Mary Jo Deagan, Jane Addams and the Men of the
Chicago School)
5. Discuss the strength, limitations and appropriate uses of each approach
to research.
BIOGRAPHY/LIFE HISTORY/ORAL NARRATIVES
A.
The purpose of narrative research is to develop a narrative regarding the stories of an
individual’s life (Creswell 2007). Narrative qualitative research, such as biographies, life
histories, and oral narratives, is a qualitative research method that focuses upon specific stories
told by individuals (Creswell 2007). Narrative research investigates and retells the stories of
individuals by chronologically depicting the lived experiences, themes, and meanings expressed
by individuals within a personal, social, and historical context (Creswell 2007). Narrative
research can be both a method and the phenomenon of study (Creswell 2007).
The narrative researcher may approach the narrative study by utilizing a paradigm to
create descriptions of themes that connect a series of stories of taxonomies of types of stories,
collect descriptions of events or happenings and then connecting the data into a story using a plot
line, or emphasize an established form of narrative qualitative research, such as a biographical
study, an autobiography, a life history, or an oral history (Creswell 2007). Methodologically, the
narrative research design consists of studying one or two individuals, collecting data in the form
of stories and individual experiences, and chronologically ordering the meaning of those
experiences (Creswell 2007).
A methodological procedure for conducting narrative research exists. (Creswell 2007).
The researcher must determine whether narrative research is the best tool to approach the research
problem and capture the stories and experiences of individuals (Creswell 2007). The researcher
must select one or more individuals who have stories or experiences and gain entrée by building
rapport to collect their stories for data (Creswell 2007). Gaining entrée and building rapport is
important, because the narrative researcher must spend considerable time with the participant in
order to gather data regarding the stories and experiences of individuals (Creswell 2007).
Narrative researchers collaborate with participants by actively involving them in the research
(Creswell 2007). Collaboration with participants involves negotiating relationships, ensuring
smooth transitions when conducting interviews, and being useful to the participant (Creswell
2007). Validation for the data is provided when the narrative researcher and the participant
establish a positive relationship, in which the researcher and the participant will change during
the course of the encounter as they negotiate the meaning of the stories (Creswell 2007). The
data recording instruments may involve the researcher observing individuals and recording field
notes, the researcher collecting letters written by individuals, collecting stories about individuals
by family members or individuals connected to the research problem, gathering documents,
obtaining artifacts, or having participants record their stories in a journal or a diary in order to
record the individual’s life experiences (Creswell 2007). The collected data should reflect the
context of the stories and experiences of individuals regarding personal experiences, the
individual’s culture, and the individual’s historical context (Creswell 2007).
Narrative qualitative researchers produce a written narrative that provides a way of
analyzing and understanding the chronologically connected lived and told experiences and stories
of individuals (Creswell 2007). After analyzing the stories and experiences of individuals,
narrative researchers organize the data into a sequential logical framework, analyze and rewrite
the stories, and provide a causal link between past, present, and future ideas, such as
predicaments, conflicts, and struggles (Creswell 2007). The narrative research product may
include elements, such as time, place, scene, plot, a story line, the themes of the story, and the
meaning of the story (Creswell 2007). The major challenges of narrative qualitative research
include, the researcher must collect extensive data from or about individuals, the researcher must
have a clear understanding of the context of the individual’s life, the researcher must have a keen
eye to identify the stories that capture the experiences of individuals, the research must uncover
the multilayered context of the lives of individuals, the researcher just actively collaborate with
participants, and the researcher must consider possible bias regarding personal and political
backgrounds (Creswell 2007).
B.
Diane D. Turner (2008) engaged in an oral history interview with Molefi Kete Asante.
Turner’s (2008) research problem related to a lack of qualitative regarding the personal
reflections of Dr. Asante. Turner’s (2008) research procedures involved gathering data, which
comprised of the personal reflections, events, causes, and effects gathered from the interview
with Dr. Asante, writing a narrative, depicting the significance of the individual, depicting the
data collection and study the procedures, and analyzing the outcomes. Turner (2008) focused
upon the specific context of the life of Dr. Asante, including Dr. Asante’s childhood, the
community in which Dr. Asante was raised, Dr. Asante’s career, and the stories involving
organizations Dr. Asante was involved with, such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
committee Chapter at the University of California, the African American Studies program at
Temple University, and the Center for Afro-American Studies (Turner 2008). Turner (2008)
began the narrative by detailing a general background of the participant. The remainder of the
narrative is composed of narrative segments that were identified as patterns of meaning, such as
events, processes, epiphanies, and themes that the researcher chose to highlight regarding the life
of Dr. Asante (Turner 2008).

1. Introduction (problem, questions)

2. Research Procedures (narrative, significance of individual, data collection, analysis outcomes)
3. Reporty of stories
4. Individuals theorize about their lives
5. narrative segments identified
6. patterns of meaning identified (Events, processes, epiphanies, themes)
7. Summary

3. Grounded Theory
A. Grounded Theory Research (definition and notes)
B. Steps in the Research Process
1. choosing a topic and analytic relationship
2. gaining entrée and building rapport
3. designing the instrument
4. conducting the interviews/field observations
5. formulating a hypothesis
6. open and axial coding of data
7. analyzing the data for patterns
8. saturating categories
9. exploring alternative hypotheses
10. developing a theoretical/conceptual model
C. Ethical/Sensitivity Considerations
D. credibility/validation of data
E. Models in the Literature (review chapter or journal article)
1. Model (e.g. Strauss, et al. The Social Organization of Medical Work)
2. Discuss the strength, limitations and appropriate uses of each approach
to research.
GROUNDED THEORY RESEARCH
A.
The purpose of grounded theory research is to generate a theory to explain a phenomenon
(Creswell 2007). Grounded theory research is a qualitative research method that focuses upon
generating or discovering a theory involving an abstract analytical schema of a social process,
action or interaction (Creswell 2007). Grounded theory research develops a theory in order to
explain practice or provide a framework for future research (Creswell 2007). The theory is
generated with data obtained by participants in the field who have experienced the process, social
action, or social interaction (Creswell 2007). The grounded theory research design involves
generating a theory or a general explanation that is supported by diagrams and hypotheses by
interrelating categories of information based upon data collected from individuals in order to
explain social processes, social action, and social interaction from the perspective of a large
number of participants (Creswell 2007).
Grounded theory researchers approach grounded theory studies from either a social
constructivist approach or a systematic procedure approach (Creswell 2007). The social
constructivist grounded theory approach involves emphasizing diverse local worlds, multiple
realities, and the complexities of particular worlds, views, and actions (Creswell 2007). Social
constructivist grounded theory qualitative research is interpretive, in that methodologically, the
research has flexible guidelines, considers the subjective perspective of the researcher when
developing a theory, encourages the researcher to make decisions about the categories throughout
the process, advances personal values, experiences, and priorities, brings questions to data,
obtains data by learning about the experience within embedded, hidden networks, situations, and
relationships, makes visible hierarchies of power, communication, and opportunity, and is
concerned more with the view, beliefs, feelings, assumptions, and ideologies of individuals in
favor of research methodology (Creswell 2007). Despite the emphasize on flexible
methodological research structure, social constructivist research engages in the practice of
gathering rich data, coding the data, using theoretical sampling, such as stressed by the systematic
procedure branch of grounded theory research, and memoing the data (Creswell 2007).
Grounded theory studies that follow systematic procedures engage in systematically
developing a theory to explain social processes, social action, or social interaction regarding a
single process or core phenomenon (Creswell 2007). The researcher generally conducts twenty to
sixty interviews in the field in order to collect saturated interview data, field observations, and
documents to saturate the categories, which are the units of information that are composed of
events, happenings, and instances (Creswell 2007).
Grounded theory researchers follow data collection with data analysis (Creswell 2007).
If necessary, the researcher will cyclically gather data from the field, analyze the data, gather
more data from the field, and analyze the data until data saturation for all emerging categories
occurs (Creswell 2007). The method of comparing collected data to emerging categories is called
the constant comparative method of data analysis (Creswell 2007). Grounded theory researchers
engage in theoretical sampling in order to acquire data to generate a theory (Creswell 2007). The
data is coded for its major categories of information through the process of open coding (Creswell
2007). After the grounded theory researcher engages in open coding, the researcher identifies one
open coding category or the core phenomenon to focus upon, which is called axial coding
(Creswell 2007). Following open coding and axial coding, the researcher again reflects upon the
data and creates categories around the core phenomenon (Creswell 2007). The types of
categories identified around the core phenomenon are called causal conditions or factors that
caused the core phenomenon, strategies or actions taken in response to the core phenomenon,
contextual and intervening conditions or broad and specific situational factors that influence
strategies, and consequences or outcomes from using the strategies (Creswell 2007). The axial
coding paradigm is a visual model that is comprised of the categories that surround the core
phenomenon and the core phenomenon (Creswell 2007). The final step in the coding process is
selective coding, from which the researcher analyzes the axial coding paradigm and develops
propositions or hypothesis that interrelate the categories in the model or assembles a story that
describes the interrelationship of categories in the model (Creswell 2007). Combining the
formulated propositions yields a low-level theory that can assume the form of a narrative
statement, a visual picture, or a series of hypotheses or propositions regarding the topic (Creswell
2007). A coding device called the conditional matrix can enable a grounded theory researcher to
connect micro and macro conditions that influence the phenomenon and formulate abstract and
grand theories (Creswell 2007).
The general procedure for conducting grounded theory research begins with the
researcher identifying whether grounded theory is the best method for studying the research
problem (Creswell 2007). Grounded theory research is a tool that enables the researcher to
generate a grounded theory to provide a framework by which the phenomenon experienced by a
sample can be explained (Creswell 2007). Grounded theory is utilized when no theories exist to
explain the research problem (Creswell 2007).
A Grounded theory study then investigates research questions regarding how individuals
experience the process by asking detailed questions in order to shape the axial coding phase
(Creswell 2007). In order to investigate the research questions, the researcher must identify the
steps in the research process, such as what the process is and how did the process unfold
(Creswell 2007). In order to accomplish this, the researcher conducts interviews and collects data
(Creswell 2007). Typical grounded theory research questions and data collection involve what
was central to or the core phenomenon of the process, what were the causal conditions, what
influenced or caused this phenomenon to occur, what strategies were utilized in the process, and
what were the consequential effects of the occurrence of the phenomenon (Creswell 2007). In
order to understand how individuals experience the process and identify the steps in the process,
the researchers engage in open coding to form categories and subcategories about the
phenomenon of study, axial coding to reassemble the data in a manner that enables the production
of a visual model or a coding paradigm, identification of the central phenomenon and causal
conditions, specific strategies or actions and interactions that resulted from the phenomenon,
identification of the context and intervening conditions, and identification of the consequential
outcomes of the actions and interactions that result from the central phenomenon (Creswell
2007). After this process, the researcher engages in selective coding to write a story line that
connects the categories established by open coding and axial coding to yield a series of
propositions that can be formulated into a substantive-level theory (Creswell 2007). The
substantive-level theory can be tested quantitatively for empirical verification or develop a
conditional matrix to explain social, historical, and economic conditions that influenced the
central phenomenon (Creswell 2007).
B.
The purpose of Clifton F. Conrad’s (1978) grounded theory study was to offer a
grounded theory of academic change as an alternative to existing models of academic change.
Clifton (1978) defines grounded theory as theory generated from data systematically obtained and
analyzed through the constant comparative method. The introduction discusses the research
problem, which was that little is known and no theories existed regarding the conditions or degree
to which sources of change are influential upon those who make the decision about whether
academic change will or will not occur (Conrad 1978). The introduction also discusses the
research questions, which question what the major sources of academic change is and the major
processes through which academic change occur.
Conrads’s (1978) grounded theory study investigated the conditions or the degree to
which sources of change are influential upon those who make the decision about whether
academic change will or will not occur (Conrad 1978). The procedures for this study involved
utilizing the constant comparative method, a four phase inductive method of discovering a theory,
that involves coding and comparing incidents applicable to each category, integrating related
categories and their theoretical properties as categories emerge or as data emerge that fit existing
categories, continuously returning to the data until the categories become theoretically saturated,
determining the boundaries of the theory, and writing the theory as a set of propositions or
discussion form (Conrad 1978). The constant comparative method is a flexible mechanism that
aids the creative generation of a theory (Conrad 1978). The constant comparative method
combines systematic coding and analysis with theoretical sampling in order to generate an
integrated, consistent, close to the data, and quantitatively operationalized and testable theory to
compare differences between groups (Conrad 1978).
Conrad (1978) gathered data from four academic institutions. Conrads’s (1978) research
instruments included an open-ended interview with an interview guide to direct the discussion.
The data for this study was obtained through open-ended interviews, membership lists and
minutes from the appropriate committees, ad hoc groups, and faculty senates, personal files of
committee members, campus newspaper articles, published and unpublished reports, personal
letters, speeches, published articles, and tapes of faculty meetings.
Conrad (1978) presents the theory by weeding out theoretical statements that relate a
series of primarily political concepts and processes to pressures for change and a policy decision
to change. Conrad (1978) then compares the theory to alternative models of change.

4. Phenomenology
A. Phenomenological Study (definition and notes)
B. Steps in the Research Process
1. gaining entre and building rapport
2. designing the instrument
3. conducting the interviews/administering questionnaire
4. analyzing the data from different vantage points
C. Ethical/Sensitivity Considerations
 D. Credibility/validation of data
E. Models in the Literature (review and chapter or journal article)
1. Models (e.g. West and Zimmerman. “Doing Gender.” 1987. Gender
& Society or Thomas Groenwald, "A Phenomenlogical Research Design
Illustrated" International Journal of Qualitative Methods, April 3 (1),
2004 http://www.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/backissues/3_1/pdf/groenewald.pdf )
2. Discuss the strength, limitations and appropriate uses of each
approach to research

PHENOMENOLOGY
The purpose of phenomenology is to describe the essence of the common experience of
several individuals (Creswell 2007). Phenomenology is a qualitative research method that
focuses upon the meanings for several individuals regarding their common lived experiences of a
phenomenon and describes the universal essence of the phenomenon in order to grasp the nature
of the phenomenon (Creswell 2007). Phenomenology involves identify phenomenon, collecting
data from those whom have experienced the phenomenon, and describing the essence of the
phenomenon (Creswell 2007). Phenomenology stresses transcending the traditional scientific
method in favor of empirical science. The types of phenomenological methods include
hermeneutical phenomenology, which is oriented towards the lived experience of individuals, and
transcendental phenomenology, which consists of identifying a phenomenon to study, bracketing
out the researcher’s prior experience, and collecting, organizing, and analyzing data obtained
from several people. The data is reduced to significant statements, which are then combined into
main themes (Creswell 2007). Then the researcher develops a textural and structural description
of the participants’ experiences in order to convey the essence of the study (Creswell 2007).
The procedure for engaging in phenomenological research begins with determining
whether a phenomenological approach is the most suitable approach to evaluate the study
(Creswell 2007). Next, the researcher selects of interest of study (Creswell 2007). Then the
researcher specifies the broad philosophical assumptions of phenomenology, such as reality is
objective and the society is socially constructed (Creswell 2007). After specifying the broad
philosophical assumptions of phenomenology, the researcher must gain entre by establishing
rapport. Then, the researcher collects data from 5-25 individuals that have experienced the
phenomenon using a research instrument such as an interview or an administered survey; other
forms of data, such as observations, journals, art, music, and poetry may be utilized to support the
research (Creswell 2007). The interview should ask two general questions; what have you
experienced in terms of the phenomenon and what contexts or situations have typically
influenced or affected your experience of the phenomenon (Creswell 2007)? The data analysis
for a phenomenological study involves identifying a phenomenon to study, bracketing out the
researcher’s prior experience, organizing, and analyzing data obtained from several people,
reducing the data to significant statements, combining significant statements into main themes
and developing a textural and structural description of the participants’ experiences in order to
convey the essence of the study (Creswell 2007).

1. Introduction (problem, questions)

2. Research procedures (a phenomenology and philosophical assumptions, data collection,
analysis)
3. Significant statements description of phenomenon
4. Meanings of statements
5. Themes of meanings
6. Exhaustive description of phenomenon
The purpose of Candace West’s and Don Zimmerman’s (1987) study was to investigate
and advance a new understanding of gender as a routine accomplishment embedded in everyday
interaction. West et al. (1987) argue that gender is something humans do, not something we are,
for women and men, whose competence as members of society, is hostage to the social
construction and reproduction of gender over time. West et al. (1987) define sex as ascribed by
socially constructed biological criteria for classifying humans as males or females and gender as a
routine, methodological, recurring accomplishment that is an emergent aspect of social
interaction. Gender is socially constructed through psychological, cultural, and social means and
expressed as role enactment and as a display (West et al. 2007). Social actors recognize
differences between males and females, categorize these differences into sex categories and
gender categories, and apply socially constructed expectations regarding how a person of a
specific person sex or gender should express gender in the social world (West et al. 1987).

In the introduction of this report, West et al. (1987) the historical social construction and
reproduction of sex categories and gender categories, in order to demonstrate the research
problem, which is that confusion exists regarding how sex and gender should be defined. The
research questions were, what processes and institutions influence members of society to acquire
the requisite categorical apparatus and other skills that are required to become a gendered human
being and can humans avoid doing gender (West et al. 1987)?

West et al. (1987) begin the discussion research procedures by discussing the phenomenological
approach applied by the researchers for this study, which involved empirically scrutinizing prior
sex and gender studies for significant statements that describe the phenomenon, recoding the
meanings of statements, producing a theme for the meanings, and exhaustively describing the
phenomenon.
The social construction and reproduction of gender represents a process by which members of
society acquire the requisite categorical apparatus and other skills that are required to become
gendered human beings. West et al. (1987) discussed the broad philosophical and theoretical
assumptions regarding the origin and history of the social construction of the concepts sex, sex
roles, sex categories, gender, gender roles, and gender categories in order to reconstruct gender
based upon data collected over the last few decades. The research agenda for this study involved
analyzing the social production of gender from an empirical standpoint (West et al. 1987). West
et al. (1987) incorporated observed social interaction from other studies into “Doing Gender” in
order to demonstrate how gender is socially constructed.

West et al. focused upon the meaning of gender (1987). Data was collected from several studies
from several individuals regarding their common lived experiences of the phenomenon of gender
(West et al. 1987). The data was reduced to significant statements, meanings were applied by the
researcher regarding the statements, themes were generated from the statements meanings, and a
modern theory of the social construction of gender was produced that described the universal
essence of the gender phenomenon as humans ‘do gender. West et al. (1987) identified a
phenomenon, collected, organized, and reduced data from several studies that consisted of the
personal perceptions and experiences of several individuals that shared a common experience
regarding gender, interpreted the data after bracketing out the researchers’ prior experience, and
described the essence of the phenomenon as ‘Doing Gender (West et al. 1987).

5. Case Study and Content Analysis

A. Case Study (definition and notes)
B. Steps in the Research Process
1. designing the study
2. identifying data sources
3. analyzing data for themes and subthemes
 C. Ethical/sensitivity considerations
D. Credibility/Validation of data
E. Models in the Literature (review and chapter or journal article)
1. Model (e.g.Robinson and Mcllwee, “Men, Women, and the
Culture of Engineering” Sociological Quarterly 1991
2. Discuss the strength, limitations and appropriate uses of each approach
to research
CASE STUDY
The purpose of a case study is to study an issue through one or more cases within a bounded
system, such as a setting or a context, over time and develop a detailed analysis of one or more
cases (Creswell 2007). A bounded system is considered a case and multiple bounded systems are
cases (Creswell 2007). A case study can be considered a choice of what is studied, a strategy of
inquiry, a comprehensive research strategy, or a methodological qualitative research design
(Creswell 2007). Case study researchers engage in analytical procedures to explore a case or
cases by collecting detailed and rich data involving multiple sources of information, such as
observations, interviews, audiovisual material, documents, and reports to produce a detailed case
description and case-based themes set within the context or surroundings of the bounded case
(Creswell 2007).
The size of the bounded cases and the intent of the case analysis determine the type of
case study that is engaged in (Creswell 2007). The single instrumental case study that focuses
upon one bounded case to address an single issue or concern, the collective or multiple case study
that involves selecting multiple cases studies to illustrate a single issue, and the intrinsic case
study that focuses upon the cases itself are three variations of intent of the case analysis (Creswell
2007).
The procedure for conducting a case study begins with the researcher determining
whether a case study is the best approach to address the research problem (Creswell 2007). When
the researcher seeks to provide a detailed understanding of the cases or a comparison of several
cases and can clearly identify cases with boundaries, a case study represents a viable qualitative
method to engage in (Creswell 2007). Next, the researcher must select the case or cases that are
to be studied; the cases may involve an individual, several individuals, a program, an event, or an
activity (Creswell 2007). After selecting the case or cases, the researcher must decide what
variation of intent of the case analysis is most efficient by choosing what type of case study is
most suitable to address the research problem (Creswell 2007). The case or cases may involve an
individual, several individuals, a program, an event, or an activity that can be a single case or a
collective of cases that is multi-sited or within-site (Creswell 2007). Purposeful sampling
represents a method to select ordinary cases, accessible cases, or unusual cases that demonstrate
different perspectives on the problem, process, or event the case study researcher wants to portray
(Creswell 2007).
After deciding the intent of the case analysis, case study researchers must extensively
collect multiple sources of information, including observations, interviews, documents, and
audiovisual materials from multiple sources if necessary (Creswell 2007). The types of data
analysis include holistic analysis of the entire case or embedded analysis of a specific aspect of
the case (Creswell 2007). Data collection enables the researcher to produce a detailed description
of the case, in which aspects of the case emerge, such as the history of the case, the chronology of
the case, or a daily rendering of the activities of the case (Creswell 2007). The detailed
description of the case enables the researcher to analyze the main themes or issues within each
case and main themes or issues that transcend cases in order to understand the complexity of the
case (Creswell 2007). By extensively collecting data and producing a detailed description of the
case or multiple cases, case study research engenders rich analyses of the context of the case or
setting in which the case exists (Creswell 2007). Rich analyses of the context of the case or
setting in which the case exists enables the researcher to make assertions by interpreting the
meaning of the case or the lessons learned (Creswell 2007). Interpreting the meaning of the case
of the lessons learned involves the researcher making assertions regarding the meaning of the
case, whether the meaning comes from learning about the issues of the case, which is called an
instrumental case, or whether the meaning comes from learning about an unusual situation, which
is called an intrinsic case (Creswell 2007).
Engaging in a case study presents research challenges (Creswell 2007). Case study
development depends upon the identification of a specific case or cases, which can be difficult in
no bounded system exists or several exist, but none can be identified as the bounded system in
which the researcher can study the research problem (Creswell 2007). Deciding whether to study
a single case or multiple cases poses a challenge for qualitative researchers (Creswell 2007).
When the researcher engages in a single case, generalizability decreases (Creswell 2007). When
the researcher engages in multiple case studies, the overall analysis is diluted (Creswell 2007).
Four or five case represents the typical number of cases that are chosen for the case study
(Creswell 2007). The intent of the case analysis poses a challenge to researchers when engaging
in purposeful sampling, because intent is necessary to provide a justification for selecting the case
and beginning data collection (Creswell 2007). Data collection poses another challenge to
researchers (Creswell 2007). Case studies require extensive data collection; many cases will not
yield sufficient data to acquire an detailed case description from which the research will make
assertions regarding case meanings (Creswell 2007).
B..
William J. Starosta (1988) opens the article with an entry vignette. The entry vignette
highlights the social movement that led to the establishing of Martin Luther King, Jr. day as a
national holiday. The introduction highlights the purpose of the article, which is to engage in
quantitative content analysis and qualitative cluster analysis to trace trends and topics of
arguments for and against Martin Luther King, Jr. day over the a sixteen year span, the research
question, which questions how Martin Luther King, Jr. day is perceived by newspapers, is
contained in the introduction, the methodology of the study, which involved engaging in a case
study comprising of a content analysis and cluster analysis of content data obtained from the
Washington Post and the New York Times, the outcomes of the study, which, quantitatively
involved the analysis of seven factors that were teased out of the data and placed upon a
continuum from strong support to strong opposition for a national holiday in honor of Martin
Luther King, Jr. that was supported by a chart, and which qualitatively enabled the researcher to
group the continuum into positive, equivocal, and negative positions and make interpretations
regarding positions in opposition to Martin Luther King, Jr. day (Starosta 1988). The description
of the case and its content involved assembling a total of 316 items from the Washington Post and
the New York Times from the Lexis Nexis database and sorting them into categories to develop
common themes, which became the seven categories that were arranged into a continuum
(Starosta 1988). Local and rural newspapers were not selected for the case, because databases
and indices lacked sufficient data to saturate the data (Starosta 1988). The items ranged from
extreme support to scorn for Martin Luther King, Jr. (Starosta 1988). The seven primary
categories that were coded in the case study were unbridled enthusiasm (+3), King as a positive
symbol (+2), another alternative perhaps (+1), merely for minorities (+0), it could be costly (-1),
Jefferson Davis et al. day (-2), and comrade King (-3) (Starosta 1988). Starosta (1988) engaged
in quantitative analysis to demonstrate statistically descriptive trends; however, Starosta (1988)
argues that qualitative cluster analysis represents the best means to understand the patterns that
arose from the content analysis data, because quantification strips the data of interpretation
(Starosta 1988). The qualitative methodology involved Starosta identifying the collective stance
of compiled writers, placing each reference in a category of similarly oriented references, and
offering a means to interpret arguments that share in the position of other newspaper writers, and
examining in depth the factors or arguments that appeared in the two papers (Starosta 1988).
Starosta (1988) details the selected issues by listing 5 positions in opposition to the Martin Luther
King, Jr. national holiday in order to shed light on the main theme, the association of symbolic
racism and Martin Luther King, Jr. day. Starosta (1988) defines symbolic racism as the
expression by suburban whites in terms of abstract ideological symbols and symbolic behaviors
of a feeling that blacks are violating cherished values and making illegitimate demands for
changes in the racial status quo. In his closing vignette, Starosta (1988) reaffirms the validity of
the quantitative content analysis and the qualitative cluster analysis, which required creating
categories based upon the seven factors that were divided and labeled as positive, equivocal, or
negative (1988).

III. Research Design Overview Discussion (2-3 pages)

Discuss the strength, limitations and appropriate uses of each approach to research.

Work Cited
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Conrad, Clifton F. 1978. “A Grounded Theory of Academic Change.” Sociology of
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Creswell, John W. 1997. Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among Five
Approaches. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks: CA.
Starosta, William J. 1988. “A National Holiday for Dr. King?: Qualitative Content
Analysis of Arguments Carried in the Washington Post and New York Times.”
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