The research question is a well-known determining factor in the development of research methodologies. In fact, questions have been known to guide research methods and design (Bryman, 2007). As a result, it is necessary that researchers take careful consideration of the research questions in determining the best way to frame and organize their research for effective achievement of their desired goals. With respect to that, this paper considers the impact of the research question on the study methods and design while placing a suggested topic under different frames where it could be answered either quantitatively or qualitatively.
In making choices between quantitative and qualitative research designs, it is important to differentiate the objectives of each type of research methods. For instance, qualitative research normally seeks to describe, explain and explore different aspects of the phenomena under study (Marshall & Rossman, 1995). As a result, their research questions will normally take the form of ‘what is this’ or ‘what happens here’ (Munhall & Boyd, 1993). Therefore, their results normally describe the processes and focuses much less on the outcome. Researchers will normally do this by obtaining information that has been derived using various methods, such as focus groups, surveys and document analysis. Thereafter, this information is synthesized using a detailed approach and inductive reasoning realizes the required objectives.
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On the other hand, qualitative research methods seek to describe outcomes, results and impacts for a wider population (Borrego, Douglas, & Amelink, 2009). In fact, such studies observe naturally occurring phenomena by the use of statistical methods in order to provide unbiased information which could be generalized on a larger population. As a result, their answers often seek to prove hypotheses and assertions. Their research questions as a result normally revolve around ‘how is one phenomenon related with another?’ As a result, the researcher is able to summarize the results in a numerical fashion, providing strong evidence why one phenomenon is linked to another.
Placing this within the context of the Vision for Educational Change project, there are two major ways that this project could go depending on the type of research questions selected. The qualitative approach can be used to describe the concepts, methods and impacts of successful stakeholder involvement in special education learning. Approaching this topic from a qualitative approach would mean that the research questions would be interested in determining what this process entails (Fraenkel, Wallen, & Hyun, 1993). As a result, a lot of time would be dedicated to an elaborate explanation of how processes and systems work for such a collaborative system. Furthermore, the research would probably delve into how this learning environment could be integrated within the general education system.
This is the approach used in Burke (2013), where a discussion about improving parental involvement in special education is done. An exploration of why parents have a difficult time being involved, as well as the impact of advocacy in boosting this involvement is provided. The paper discusses details of how parents can assert their special education rights to receive quality education services for their children.
On the other hand, the same topic could be approached from a quantitative perspective. In such an instance, data collection methods would be used to provide strong numerical evidence of the existence of a phenomenon, rather than use lengthy descriptions to prove its existence (Mertens, 2014). For instance, a study sought to evaluate the efficacy of a special education advocacy program using a pretest and posttest evaluation. Participants who took part in the training showed progress in their special education and advocacy knowledge. Their skills were further sharpened for areas such as advocacy for parental involvement in special education (Burke, et al., 2016). Data analysis methods were applied to data and the researcher came up with conclusive evidence to prove this fact.
In conclusion, the difference between a quantitative and qualitative study thus would equally be reflected in the research questions due to the fact that different goals are contemplated for the various studies. By providing the different examples of how quantitative and qualitative methods can be used in education research, this paper has demonstrated how the research question can influence the design and methods which are used.
Bibliography
Borrego, M., Douglas, E. P. & Amelink, C. T., 2009. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed research methods in engineering education. Journal of Engineering education, 98(1), pp. 53-66.
Bryman, A., 2007. The research question in social research: what is its role?. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 10(1), pp. 5-20.
Burke, M., 2013. Improving parental involvement: Training special education advocates. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 23(4), pp. 225-234.
Burke, M., Goldman, S., Hart, M. & Hodapp, R., 2016. Evaluating the efficacy of a special education advocacy training program. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 13(4), pp. 269-276.
Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E. & Hyun, H. H., 1993. How to design and evaluate research in education (Vol. 7). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Marshall, C. & Rossman, G., 1995. Designing qualitative research. Second edition. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
Mertens, D. M., 2014. Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. New York: Sage publications.
Munhall, P. & Boyd, C., 1993. Nursing research: a qualitative perspective. Second edition. New York: National League for Nursing Press.
