ERIC Number: ED435667
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1999-Apr
Pages: 20
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Doing Qualitative Research without a Disciplinary Framework.
Dowd, Alicia C.
In 1998, the researcher participated in a graduate-level interpretive methods class as a teaching assistant. This paper considers several aspects of the approach used in this class to teach interpretive research methods. These approaches include: (1) the introduction of five different research traditions recognized as qualitative; (2) the assignment of a class research project; and (3) the absence of either a disciplinary perspective or background readings to guide the research project. The paper is informed by observations in class, conversations with students and other instructors, and the review of student research papers. The implications for teaching qualitative methods are discussed. The study suggests that when a novice researcher proceeds without a grounding in a relevant discipline or theoretical perspective, she may have difficulty bounding the case under study. In the absence of theory, novice researchers need to be able to rely on their personal response to their field experiences and on careful examination of those responses in order to focus their attention on arguments they care about. (Contains 10 references.) (SLD)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Montreal, Quebec, Canada, April 19-23, 1999).