I have been reading proposals to get an idea of what I need to do for my thesis proposal. I have to admit that I have been really confused. These three chapters have actually helped me understand what I am supposed to be doing. I still have some questions specific to my project, but at least I know how to start. One thing that I have noticed is that I have quantitative research on the brain. I am used to doing research in psychology, and it is a lot different than what I will be doing in my thesis. I think that since I want to think in quantitative, while doing qualitative research is probably what is confusing me.
The introduction chapter is pretty straight forward. The deficiencies model makes things so much easier to outline. In qualitative research, the researcher explores the problem through a particular theoretical lens, and may use personal experiences ( 98-99). I found this to be the most beneficial, because I can tell about my own experience in relation to the problem I am researching. The research problem needs to engage the reader right away, clearly identify what the problem is that is being studied, and why it is important to study it. The review of studies almost sounded like a literature review, but I think of it as establishing what research has been done and how your research adds new knowledge to what is already known. Why your research is important is the significance of a study for audiences.
The purpose statement is another area that was confusing me. Maybe this is because my idea is too broad. Anyway, I see that it basically says what you intend to find in the study, who you are studying, and where you are studying them (112). What also threw me off was that in chapter seven it says in qualitative research you use research questions instead of objectives (129). Part of the purpose statement is to state your objectives, so I was a little unsure of what it meant.
The central question of the research questions was the same way. If you have to focus on a single concept in the study, how do you then ask a very broad question about the study (129-130)? I am probably overthinking this, but it didn't seem to make sense when I was reading it.
I have to admit that I want absolutely nothing to do with quantitative research, and i admire you for being able to dive head first into it; coming from a psychological background, it makes sense. As for the questions involved in qualitative research, it makes a little more sense to me. To guide your research, or to keep your research on track, it's important to have questions leading you through your research. With personal experience, it's easier to get sidetracked than it would be in a quantitative research study since much of the research involved in that is fact. Research questions involved in qualitative research are the equivalent of a hypothesis or variable relationships involved in quantitative research; they keep you on track and help complete your goal: to gain knowledge, and sometimes, from a different perspective.
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