Senior High School

Practical Research 1
Quarter 4 – Module 21
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
DESIGNS
Practical Research 1 – Grade 11
Quarter 4 – Module 21: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGNS
First Edition, 2020

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Practical Research 1
Quarter 4 – Module 21
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
DESIGNS
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:
As a facilitator, you are expected to orient the learners on how to
use this module. You also need to keep track of the learners' progress
while allowing them to manage their own learning at home.
Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist the learners as
they do the tasks included in the module.

For the learner:

As a learner, you must learn to become responsible of your own
learning. Take time to read, understand, and perform the different
activities in the module.
As you go through the different activities of this module be
reminded of the following:
1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on
any part of the module. Use a separate sheet of paper in
answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer Let’s Try This before moving on to the
other activities.
3. Read the instructions carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking
your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are
done.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this
module, do not hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always
bear in mind that you are not alone. We hope that through this
material, you will experience meaningful learning and gain deep
understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!

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 Learning from Others and Reviewing the
Literature: Qualitative Research Designs

Information about this ADM learner’s material

I. Objectives: The learner demonstrates understanding of

qualitative research designs.
Ia. Content Standard

The learner is able to describe qualitative

Ib. Performance Standard
research designs.

Chooses appropriate qualitative research

Ic. Learning Competency
design. (CS_RS11-IVa-c-1)

II. Content / Topic Qualitative Research Designs

Pleasant day, Learners!

I hope you are doing well and having fun time learning. I
welcome you to Module 21 of Practical Research 1 which is all about
qualitative research designs.
This module serves as your guide to understanding the
appropriate design to use in different types of inquiry. Learning this
module will set your path to systematically collect data.
May you find this module interesting!

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 These are the objectives expected to be

achieved to meaningfully learn this module:

1. describe qualitative research designs; and

2. choose appropriate qualitative research

designs.

Introduction
In building a school, construction team does not just combine parts of a
building by mere personal choice and knowledge. They follow a prescribed design
of a building from architecture. This design is a plan carefully crafted to illustrate the
expected output of a school building. This is equally true in research. The
researchers (like the architectures) follow a plan/design that consists of procedures
and method on how to conduct the study (Edmonds & Kennedy, 2017) and produce
the expected outcome.
There are multiple designs in conducting qualitative research relevant to our
daily lives. It can be narrative research, phenomenological research, grounded
theory, ethnography or case studies (Creswell, 2012). Choosing the appropriate
research design to be used gives a clear direction as to how the hows and whys of
a phenomenon be answered.

Now that you have an idea of what qualitative research

design is, let’s try doing some activities.

The Art of Choosing

Instruction: Look at the pictures. Choose the appropriate image for
each given situation. Encircle the answer.

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 1. Which among the flowers is usually used as a corsage (a designed flower
pinned on chest) during graduation?

2. You are reading a research study and want to highlight the problem of the
study for you to easily identify it later on as you recheck it. Which among the
pens will you use?

Take a look at your answers in the previous activity.

Answer the questions below to help you process your
answers and better grasp the activity.

Guide Questions:

1. What did you think of when choosing the answer?

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

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 2. Why do we need to use appropriate elements/parts whenever we
have to do or design something?
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Hope you did well in the previous activities!

The following information will formally engage you
about qualitative research designs. If you have some
points to clarify, below is your help. You can do it!

Lesson: Qualitative Research Designs

Qualitative Research Designs

As the years of doing qualitative research progressed, various designs have
been introduced in the field. These designs are the basis of conducting the
research—setting specific directions. Creswell (2014) summarized the qualitative
research design into five (5): narrative research, phenomenology, grounded theory,
ethnography or case study. The use of appropriate qualitative research design is
dependent on the purpose of the study.

Narrative Research

This study deals with an inquiry in humanities. The researcher explores the
lives of individuals (participant/s) by asking them to tell their life stories. The
researcher then retells the story in the discussion of his paper with a combination of
his own life’s accounts (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, as cited by Creswell, 2012).
This design is appropriately used when a researcher’s purpose seeks to understand
human experiences through narration or telling a life story.
Example Study: A Narrative Research Approach: The Experiences of Social Media
Support in Higher Education (Elçi & Devran, 2014)

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 Phenomenology

This study comes from the inquiry in philosophy and psychology. The
researcher asks the individuals (participants) about their lived experiences on the
phenomenon (ex. being a teenage mother) identified usually through an interview.
According to (Edmonds & Kennedy, 2017), this design is appropriately used when a
researcher’s purpose seeks to:
• Studying people 's experiences
• Studying how people make meaning in their lives
• Studying relationships between what happened and how people have come to
understand these events
• Exploring how people experience the essence of a particular phenomenon
• Examining the commonalities across individuals
Example Study: Demystifying the Causes of Poor Engagement in Oral
Communication among Grade 11 Students (Tañega, 2018)

Grounded Theory

This study stems from the inquiry of sociology. The researcher asks the views
of individuals (participants). Grounded from the responses, the “researcher derives a
general, abstract theory of a process, action, or interaction” (Creswell, 2014, p. 42).
Charmaz, and Corbin and Strauss (2006, 2007 as cited in Creswell, 2014) assert
that this type of qualitative study undergoes multiple stages in the data collection
process and in the analysis of the categories extracted. This design is appropriately
used when a researcher’s purpose seeks to generate a theory. Corbin and Strauss
(as cited in Edmonds & Kennedy, 2017) pointed out criteria of a good grounded
theory:
a. fit the phenomenon;
b. provide understanding;
c. provide generality, in that the theory includes extensive variation and is
abstract enough to be applicable to a wide variety of contexts; and
d. provide control, in the sense of stating the conditions under which the theory
applies and describing a reasonable basis for action.
Example Study: How Youth Get Engaged: Grounded-Theory Research on
Motivational Development in Organized Youth Programs (Dawes
& Larson, 2011).

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 Ethnography

This study comes from the inquiry of anthropology and sociology. Creswell
(2014) claims that the “researcher studies the shared patterns of behaviors,
language, and actions of an intact cultural group in a natural setting over a prolonged
period of time” (p.43). The researcher collects data from observation and interviews
and is expected to be skilful in providing rich and complete details of the observation.
Example Study: Ethnographic Research among Drinking Youth Cultures:
Reflections from Observing Participants (Briggs, Gololobov,
Ventselawes &, 2015)

Case Study

This study can be found in many fields. The researcher establishes “an in-
depth case analysis of a case” (p. 43). Schramm (1971) emphasized that case
studies are “illuminating decision or a set of decisions: why they were taken, how
they were implemented, and with what result” (p. 6). This design is appropriately
used when a researcher’s purpose seeks to gather detailed appreciation of a case,
issue, event or phenomenon of interest.
Example Study: Managing school behavior: A qualitative case study (Dodge,
2011)

Qualitative Research Design Exploratory Verb

Narrative Research Report (or reflect) the stories

Describe the essence of the

Phenomenology
experience

Grounded theory Discover or generate theory

Ethnography Seek to understand

Case Study Explore a process

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Choosing Research Design

Instruction: Read the following scenarios. Choose the appropriate

research design to use. Write your answer in the box.

Narrative Research Phenomenology Grounded theory

Ethnography Case study

Example: A group of Grade 12 students wanted to explore the lived experiences

of teenage mothers.
Design: Phenomenology

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scenario 1: A researcher wants to study the life of an OFW by having the

participant tell his/her life stories. The researcher then relates his/her
life experiences.

Design: __________________________

Scenario 2: A researcher intends to examine the decisions of investors in investing

in pyramid schemes.

Design: __________________________

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Scenario 3: A researcher immerses in Badjao community to study their livelihood
pattern.

Design: __________________________

Scenario 4: A researcher conducts a multi-stage study on the hygiene practices of

a community located beside the river to come up with generalization.

Design: __________________________

1. Qualitative research design is a plan that sets the direction of collecting

qualitative data in a study.

2. The main qualitative research designs are narrative research,

phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography or case study.

Choosing My Research Design

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Instruction: Review your previous activities in the Let’s Test Ourselves part of

the module. Based on the information, choose the appropriate

qualitative research design of your chosen topic.

Research Title:_______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

Statement of the Problem:

________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Research Design:

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Answer Key

The Art of Choosing

1.

2.

Choosing Research Design

Instruction: Read the following scenarios. Choose the appropriate

research design to use.
1. Narrative Research
2. Case Study
3. Ethnography
4. Grounded Theory

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Choosing My Research Design

Instruction: Review your previous activities in Let’s Test Ourselves. Based on

the information, choose the appropriate qualitative research

design of your chosen topic.

Answers vary

References:

Creswell, J. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and

evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th ed.). Pearson

Creswell, J. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and

mixed method approaches (4th ed.). SAGE

Briggs, D., Gololobov, I., Ventselawes, A. (2015). Ethnographic research

among drinking youth cultures: Reflections from observing
participants. Folklore, 61, p157-176. (14060957)

Dawes, N. P., & Larson, R. (2011). How youth get engaged: Grounded-
theory research on motivational development in organized youth
programs. Developmental Psychology, 47(1), 259–269.
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020729

Dodge, P. (2011). Managing school behavior: A qualitative case study.

Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 12038.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/12038

Edmonds, W.A. & Kennedy, D. (2017). An applied guide to research

designs: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods (2nd ed.).
SAGE

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Schramm, W. (1971). Notes on case studies of instructional media
projects. A working paper for Institute for Communication Research,
Stanford University, CA. ERIC, Number: ED092145.

Elçi, A. & Devran, B. (2014). A Narrative research approach: The

experiences of social media support in higher education.
ResearchGate, 8523, 36-42. 10.1007/978-3-319-07482-5_4.

Tañega, A.M. (2018). Demystifying the causes of poor engagement in

oral communication among grade 11 students.
[Unpublished research]. Daniel R. Aguinaldo National
High School.

For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – Davao City Division

E. Quirino Avenue, Davao City

Telephone: (082) 227 4762

Email Address: [email protected]

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