My role as a researcher in qualitative research will imply several essential activities. First, I will measure all relevant aspects of the selected problem to understand the correlation between variables. Furthermore, I will attempt to access the views and attitudes of participants to ensure the correct understanding of the selected problem (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). At the same time, the study uses the narrative approach, which means the researcher should understand how participants construct a story and specific narrative resting on their personal experiences or background knowledge (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). It will help to structure the acquired data, organize it, and discuss it regarding the selected issue of interest. Furthermore, the selected research methods are relevant to the research topic. Analyzing social skills and retention problems in universities, it is vital to collect data from participants who have the necessary experiences and structure them to build a clear and understandable narrative. For this reason, my role as a researcher is to use a qualitative approach to acquire participants’ views and attitudes to the problem and discuss them to answer the research questions and acquire a better vision of the problem.
At the same time, the study results can be influenced by the personal and professional relationships between a researcher and participants. In such a case, the credibility of the study might suffer. For this reason, it is critical to avoid building personal, close, or emotional relations with all individuals involved in the research (Creswell & Poth, 2017). It will eliminate the subjectivity factor in findings and increase the relevance of conclusions. Moreover, professional relationships should be established following the existing ethics code (Creswell & Poth, 2017). It will help to avoid conflicts and ensure that parties respect and trust each other.
References
Creswell, J., & Creswell, D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Creswell, J., & Poth, C. (2017), Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.