Qualitative Research Methods

This is a qualitative research method class.

This project should focus on addressing real-world communication problems with your research in your local community. This project will use interviews.

Here is my original brainstorming idea:
My general interest is communication issues at work. To be more specific, I want to look into the lack of motivation at work.
I want to use the critical theories paradigm because I want to look at how communication is used to oppress lower-tier workers; why do many entry-level workers lack motivation? How can we improve it and provide a positive change?
Being a black female, I didn’t see much of myself or people who look like me in higher-up positions. Being raised to work two times harder than the next person and watching the way my face looks because I don’t want to come across angry will affect how I look at this project. I feel like many others that look like me will feel the same. Those who don’t look like me may also feel the same or have different reasonings for lacking motivation at work, and I want to find that out. How can we make it better for all lower-tier workers?
This research idea completes my academic AND professional interests because no matter where you are (school or work), there is a hierarchy. There are always communication issues in the power of that hierarchy, and I will always want to know why and how we can solve it.

Here is my professor’s feedback to the brainstorming: I like this topic, and I think you should look into organizational communication theories (lots of them use the critical cultural paradigm)–especially ones focused on power–

So for the overall paper, I am going to focus on organizational communication theories and a critical cultural paradigm. I will be interviewing coworkers.

What I Need Today: In this assignment, you will be creating a rough draft of what will eventually become your research methods section of your final project/paper! Obviously, this is going to be revised after my feedback, and again once your research is complete, but it’s good to get a firm idea of what you are going to do put together now.

For this assignment, you will be relying heavily on pages 93-102 in the APA manual, 7th edition, since you are conducting interviews. You will provide me one paragraph on each of the following items:

research design overview
researchers’ description
participants
researchers-participant relationship
participant recruitment
data collection

Again, you will find detailed descriptions of what should be included in the APA manual, pages 93-102. Please make sure to write it in the present tense (since you’ve not done the research yet), and keep in mind that you will change that to the past tense for the final project. I expect this will take 2-3 pages, using 12 point font, Times New Roman, with 1″ margins and double-spacing. Please make sure to use APA formatticixng for your paper pieces!

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