Introduction
Qualitative study is different from quantitative study. Consequently, the two studies require very different approaches when analyzing them. Qualitative research methods comprise of varied philosophical underpinnings. Hence, one should use discrete methods of reasoning when evaluating a qualitative research (Coughlan, Cronin & Ryan, 2007).
The fact that there are numerous qualitative methods makes the analysis of a qualitative research very intricate. In a bid to analyze a qualitative study, one ought to have a clear understanding of the objective of the study. This aspect would help to determine the effectiveness of the research methods used during the study as well as the findings. Besides, the literature review ought to be consistent with the research objectives.
A brief description of the informants, method of data collection, and method of information analysis would help to ascertain the credibility of the results. A qualitative research is of relevance if it helps in explaining a certain phenomenon or supporting an already known phenomenon. This paper analyzes a qualitative research done by Jessica Lee Pugh about the influence of Facebook in the development of online identity.
Evaluation of Introduction and literature review
One of the importances of including an introduction section in any qualitative study is to introduce the reader to the study and help him or her have clear idea of what the study seeks to find out (Burns, 2002). Researchers ensure that they bring out the rationale for their study in this section. In this section, the researchers present adequate rationale for conducting their study.
In this study, Jessica has clearly defined the purpose of the research. She has considered the previous studies that have focused on the same issue and prove that the studies did not address the issue of online identity exhaustively. Therefore, she believes that there is the need to tackle this issue in a better way. Moreover, the researcher has compared the initial method of online identity and the modern method and she has brought out their differences. Hence, she has proved that there is the need to study the modern method of developing online identity since it is changing as the online technology changes.
Research studies are of great significance to the public, organizations, as well as the government. In most cases, the studies try to demystify a particular mystery or explain a particular phenomenon. In doing so, they help the public, organizations, or the government to understand why a particular phenomenon happened (Burns, 2002). The study conducted by Jessica Lee Pugh is of great significance not only to the youths but also to the society.
Currently, everyone is using technology for barely everything. People are not only using the Internet to communicate but they are also using it for business transactions. Jessica has conducted a study to identify how people are able to establish their identities in the websites (Facebook to be specific), therefore, establishing healthy relationships with others across the world.
Through this study, people will understand how they can define themselves in social online space, thus establishing healthy relationships with people across the globe. The study is crucial since it might help to enhance social interaction between people in different countries. Besides, the study might help to boost business relationship between people in different regions since people would understand how to package themselves as well as their products and services.
Literature review plays a significant role in any qualitative study. The review helps the researchers to have a clear picture of what is already known about the topic of study. In return, it helps the researchers to identify the emerging themes, which helps them organize for their studies (Robinson & Thorne, 1999). Jessica conducted a through research prior to embarking on her study. She consulted numerous scholarly articles that address the issue of the development of online identity to help her come up with an idea of what is already known. The scholarly articles gave Jessica a strong foundation from which she established her study.
A comprehensive literature review is one that looks at all the perspectives of a particular study. For a research to stand the test of time, it needs to be comprehensive and unbiased (Robinson & Thorne, 1999). In this research, Jessica does not demonstrate any possible biasness in her review. She consulted numerous studies that had different opinions regarding the development of online identity. Besides, Jessica considered several theories in her study to facilitate in elucidating the different identities that people establish in online media.
In a bid to make the review understandable, and thus make the readers understand the importance of conducting a qualitative study in this field, Jessica made sure that she defined all the critical concepts that affect the study. She made sure that she elaborated on all the existing studies and tried to define the different theories. For instance, she took the time to define the concept of the situated cognition. Besides, she tried to elucidate how the concept relates to the topic of study.
Evaluation of the purpose statement
Before conducting any qualitative research, the researchers ought to state clearly the purpose of their study. The purpose statement acts as the guideline throughout the study. Besides, scholars use the purpose statement when analyzing any research work (Cobb & Hagemaster, 2000). In the purpose statement, the researcher identifies the significance of the study. Besides, the researcher describes how the study will contribute to what is already known about the topic of discussion. In this study, Jessica did not include a section that describes the purpose of her study. Nevertheless, she includes the purpose of the study in the introduction section.
According to the study, the purpose of the research was to identify the role of Facebook in developing online identity. This purpose is well covered in the literature reviewed the researcher compiled. Jessica focused on those scholarly articles that address the issue of online identity. Moreover, the literature review focused on theories that address the issue of online identity, like the one devised by Hoyer and MacInnis.
Evaluation of Methodology
Qualitative research integrates different research methods based on the duration of the study, the number of participants, and the availability of resources (Goodwin & Goodwin, 2004). In this study, Jessica used an ethnographic research design. An ethnographic research design is one that entails an interactive research where the researcher meets the participants and has time with them. The method uses interviews as one of the methods of data collection. Through this design, the participants are required to respond to a number of questions, which help the researcher to collect the necessary information.
The purpose of this study was to collect information about identity creation in online media. This activity is more sensitive since it involves collecting information that is more personal and subconscious. Therefore, it requires an in-depth exploration. The ethnographic design proved to be the most appropriate method since it would help the researcher interact with the different participants and have a close examination of her subjects.
An unbiased research method goes a long way to ensure the credibility of the research findings (Goodwin & Goodwin, 2004). Jessica evaluated the various research methods before opting to settle on the interviews. She did not introduce any bias in her research method and she ensured that she settled on a method that would help in collecting all the necessary information based on the sensitivity of the research in hand.
The researcher used a theoretical sampling technique to come up with her sample population. The technique was crucial in helping the researcher identify a sample that would be capable of bringing out a clear comparison between the various user groups. The selected sample had various demographic characteristics that helped the researcher to come up with accurate information. For instance, the population comprised of participants aged between 13 and 50 years. With such a population, the researcher was able to identify how the different age brackets portray themselves in the online media.
Moreover, the researcher made sure that her sample comprised of both genders and individuals that use the Facebook on a regular basis. For the sake of the quality of information collected, she opted to get the participants that were not members of her personal Facebook network. The sampling method offered a good representative sample since it considered participants from different age brackets. The method gave the researcher an opportunity to analyze how the various age groups present their identities in Facebook.
The objective of choosing to use participants that were not members of the researcher’s Facebook network was to ensure that the researcher did not collect biased information. Besides, the researcher obtained her sample from a pool of people aged between 13 and 50 years as away of ensuring that the different age brackets had representatives in the sample. The main drawback of this study was that it only used eleven participants to come up with its conclusions. This sample size was too small compared to the number of people that use Facebook daily.
In a bid to obtain the required information, Jessica used interviews. She carried out an in-depth interview, which helped her collect information from all the participants. In her study, Jessica gave an adequate description of the interview protocol. She gave the duration of the interview took as well as how the interviewees conducted themselves during the interview. From the protocol, one can clearly say that the interview process was successful in collecting the desired information.
Nonetheless, the method of data collection used in the study was vulnerable to a number of limitations. The quality of the findings depends on the researcher. Hence, there are possibilities that the researcher could compromise the outcomes due to personal idiosyncrasies and biasness. Besides, the findings might not be very accurate since the method used requires a lot of time for data collection and analysis. In a bid to ensure that the findings are accurate, the researcher needed having adequate time and financial resources to interview a bigger sample.
Interview requires the researcher to be present when the interviewee is responding to the questions. This aspect might have an effect on the quality of the responses that the interviewee gives. Jessica’s research involved collecting sensitive information. Hence, some interviewees might not have agreed to divulge to the interviewer all the sensitive information.
Evaluation of the results
Regardless of the findings of the qualitative research, the researcher is supposed to discuss his or her findings based on what already exists. Moreover, the findings ought to be in line with the purpose of the study. The researcher ought to determine if the study has addressed the purpose of the study effectively and, if not, mention the areas that require further research (Hoye & Severinsson, 2007). Jessica used the technique of grounded theory to analyze the collected data. This technique helps researchers come up with a hypothetical elucidation of social phenomena.
The researcher compared all the information that the participants gave during the interviews, which gave the researcher an opportunity to identify the major themes of identity creation and understand why the different participants opted to take particular identities in Facebook. In describing the results, the researcher referred to numerous theories and other literature reviews. For instance, she introduced the notion of celebrity founded by Marshall in 1997 to explain why people opt to use particular images in their Facebook profiles. The different references helped to reinforce the credibility of the research findings and to enhance understanding.
Evaluation of the discussion
In the discussion section, the researcher is supposed to restate the research question or the purpose of the research. This move helps the reader to determine if the study actually addressed the research question or it met its purpose (Hoye & Severinsson, 2007). In this study, Jessica restates the objective of the research. The researcher has clearly discussed the implications of the findings.
For instance, she has discussed the effects Facebook might have on the managerial practices. She has discussed how the findings might lead to more women using Facebook to expand their markets and to improve on their products or services. In addition, she has correlated the findings with the idea of celebrity, coined by Marshall, and shown how personal identity in Facebook might lead to one being popular.
Despite the findings of the research, the researcher gave some limitations that might have affected the results. The limitations include time constraints, which forced the participants to use a small sample size. Moreover, the researcher claimed that the study was prone to biasness from the informants.
Some participants were not willing to give accurate information regarding how they judge the information given by other people on their Facebook updates. Some feared being judged, and thus they therefore gave false information. Besides giving the limitations, the researcher advised on what need to be done during the subsequent studies. She recommended that such a research would require more time, more research, and thorough preparation.
Conclusion
Analysis of a qualitative research entails numerous aspects. The research uses different qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. Hence, it requires an individual to identify the method used in a particular study before embarking on its analysis. Besides, the evaluation ought to be in a systematic approach. The research ought to have a clear statement of the purpose of the study.
Moreover, the study’s literature review is supposed to revolve around the purpose of the qualitative research. The method used in data collection and analysis ought to be in line with the research objectives. For the credibility of a qualitative research, the researcher needs to describe the method used to analyze the collected information, explain the limitations encountered during the study and recommend the directions for the subsequent studies.
References
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