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Dr. Whitney has just finished a qualitative study of attitudes about race among college students. She is concerned that her analysis might be flawed. Which of the following would be BAD advice about how to ensure the quality of her research?

Have more than one person code or categorize the data.

Have a colleague review the study design to ensure it is defensible.

Have another researcher examine the coding categories for consistency and clarity.

Have another researcher analyze your data quantitatively.

Assess the extent to which your research categories have been carefully defined.

2 Answers

5 votes

Final answer:

In Dr. Whitney's qualitative study on college students' attitudes about race, the bad advice for ensuring research quality is to have the data analyzed quantitatively. Qualitative research emphasizes depth, context, and subjective understanding, which are not captured by quantitative methods. Good practices include multiple coders, peer review of design, and clear category definitions.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student has inquired about quality assurance methods in qualitative research conducted by Dr. Whitney on college students' attitudes about race. Among the suggested options, the bad advice is to have another researcher analyze the data quantitatively. This is because qualitative research deals with subjective viewpoints, thematic structures, and meanings behind the data, which are not readily translated into numbers or statistical analysis. Instead, an in-depth examination of consistency, clarity of categories, and having multiple coders can strengthen the validity of the qualitative analysis.

Having more than one person code or categorize the data is a way to improve inter-rater reliability. A colleague reviewing the study design for defensibility ensures that the research approach is well-thought-out and can withstand academic scrutiny. Consistency and clarity of coding categories can be assessed by having another researcher examine them. Assessing the research categories for their clear definition enhances the study's replicability and understanding. However, quantitative analysis would not serve the purpose of ensuring the quality of qualitative research, as it would shift the focus from understanding the depth and context of attitudes to measuring quantifiable aspects that might not represent the subject matter adequately.

User Angelina
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8.5k points
6 votes

Final answer:

The bad advice for Dr. Whitney's concern about her qualitative study's analysis is having another researcher analyze the data quantitatively, as qualitative data cannot be properly represented numerically.

Step-by-step explanation:

When Dr. Whitney expresses concern about potential flaws in her qualitative study of attitudes about race among college students, the BAD advice is to have another researcher analyze your data quantitatively. This is not recommended because qualitative research involves interpreting subjective data that cannot be accurately translated into numerical values that quantitative analysis requires. To ensure the quality of her qualitative research, she should focus on methods such as: having more than one person code or categorize the data, having a colleague review the study design for defensibility, having another researcher examine coding categories for consistency and clarity, and assess the extent to which research categories are clearly defined.

User DrunkOldDog
by
8.6k points
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