Veronica Wilkerson Johnson

May 1, 2013
IDSL 840
Unit 11
Assignment 1
Directions:
Read the material in the Merriam text pages 237-264 and answer the
following questions below. After completing these questions save questions
and answers and upload them into Blackboard. After the homework has
been uploaded, respond to the discussion question for the week.
Assessment/Homework from Merriam, Unit Notes and the Internet:
1. Why is it difficult to write qualitative research reports?
Data collection and analysis is continuous in qualitative research, and there
is no time when everything else stops and writing begins, according to
Merriam. A great amount of data must be sorted through and condensed to
a cohesive narrative. Also, there is no standard format for reporting such
data.
2. What approach/ considerations does Merriam suggest when beginning
to write a qualitative research report? Why do you think this is important?
First decide who the report is for. This is called audience conjuring.
Audience tells what essential facts, ideas and levels of complexity and
abstractions to include.
3. Do you agree or disagree with Merriams comments related to
determining an audience for a qualitative research report? Explain.
Merriam states that determining the audience should help a researcher
define the relative emphasis of different components of the research report.
I agree because this level of focus aids the process and creates synergy for
bringing together the components of the project.

4. What would a dissertation or scholarly review committee expect in a

qualitative report?
A scholarly review committee would expect a thesis or a proposition that
puts forth an argument to be defended. Discrepancies might occur
regarding previous research.
5. List the suggestions Merriam offers for outlining the report? Explain why
these suggestions are important.
Merrriam suggests the data be culled, reviewed and organized, preferably
all along the data collection process. An easy way to outline is to write
down all the topics that might be covered in the report.
6. What does Merriam recommend for overcoming writers block? Explain
how you have overcome writers block in the past.
Writing helps crystallize thought and layer the information. Writers block is
likely a thinking block, and improves as a researcher gains more insight,
data or narratives.
7. What is the common way in which qualitative findings are reported?
Locate an example of what you reported in this question. Include the title,
author, date and URL of the example.
Qualitative findings are reported as information gleaned from interviews,
and they become a rich source of data.
Example:
Abramson, P. R. (1992). A case for case studies: An immigrant's
journal. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., pgs. 12-13.
http://www.personal.psu.edu/kap149/blogs/ka/2009/12/abramson.html . Last
retrieved 5-1-13.

8. How should a research framework be used in the data analysis

discussion in a qualitative research report?

A researcher uses the process of adopting an innovation that mirrors an

established framework in the literature.
9. What are the general suggestions for creating visual displays within a
research report?
Displaying data in a final report provides analyses that readers can use,
and they add an element of interest to the study. Displays provide a
shorthand version of the findings and should be used judiciously. There are
three common aids in qualitative reports - a table listing of participants with
key bits of information, a table providing demographic profiles of
participants, and a study that is primarily based on observation, and it
includes an observation grid.
10. List and describe Merriams general suggestions for creating a
qualitative research report?
Which of the general suggestions do you see yourself using in any potential
qualitative research study. Explain.
Merriams general suggestions are as follows:
The use of general description; a methodology section, and
an outcome of the inquiry. I see myself using all three of these tools.
11. List and describe five routes to disseminating the research findings.
Why is it important to disseminate the research findings?
The routes are: executive summaries, set of open ended questions, cross
case analysis tailored to the specific elements of the case, analytic
summaries with supporting data in appendices, oral delivery in the form of
conference presentation or a debriefing. This is important because a
researcher needs to get his/her findings out to the intended audiences.
12. Describe the basic outline for a case study as suggested by Merriam.
Merriam suggests: an entry vignette, issue identification - purpose and
method of stud, extensive narrative description to further define case and
context, development of issues, descriptive detail - documents, quotations,
and triangulating data, assertions, and a closing vignette.