Benjamin Garrison

DQ 1

Over the past 16 years, only two building permits for new housing construction have been issued in Sedgwick County, Colorado. This is consistent with the depopulation (particularly of younger persons) and economic diminution that is attributed to a declining rainfall since the 1970s. These are quantitative details. It is unclear how much of the depopulation was due to perceived opportunities elsewhere, to copycat or fad behavior, and to perceived change in local economic opportunity.

Why is qualitative analysis more likely to identify the leading cause of Sedgwick County's out-migration than quantitative methods? Which characteristics of qualitative research most influenced your response to this question?

Qualitative research may be better at investigating these type of questions because it can take the individual's thought process into account. As Frost (2011) notes, qualitative research is particularly useful at understanding the individual's experience. It can explore the reasons people are moving out of the area.

For instance, the researcher could use interviews to explore the topic and find that people are following jobs. Sedgwick County seems fairly rural so people may be moving because there are only ranching or farming opportunities in Sedgwick County. Graduates may be seeking tech jobs and move out of the area to find these type of jobs.

Frost's (2011) emphasis on understanding the human experience was the characteristic that most influenced my response. The researcher must understand the human experience to answer this question. Quantitatively analysis can highlight reasons that can be measured. For instance, the researcher could look at the number of jobs available locally, the unemployment rate, and even trend this data to see if it is changing. This would give the researcher a good base line to compare to other cities, but it does not explain the whole picture.

Qualitative research looks at the human experience. It can explore opinions and paradigms that affect individual's behavior. Barnham (2015) states "qualitative research is almost universally associated with ‘why?' questions that reference its emergence in motivational research and the suggestion that we can get to ‘deeper' levels through such interrogative strategies" (p. 837).

For instance, this project may investigate the motivation behind Sedgwick County graduates pursuit of college. Do they want to pursue different types of jobs? Is this their goal or their parent's goal for them? Qualitative analysis is particularly suited for exploring these types of questions to effort to identify the reasons behind Sedgwick County's depopulation.

Barnham, C. (2015). Quantitative and qualitative research.International Journal of Market Research, 57(6), 837-854.doi:10.2501/IJMR-2015-070

Frost, N. (2011).Qualitative Research Methods in Psychology: Combining Core Approaches. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Gina Anderson

DQ 2

Although qualitative research can sometimes be considered softer, subjective research and data, it does offer a much deeper understanding of a phenomenon (Barnham, 2015). Further, qualitative research gives understanding to the "why" of a research question rather than just the "what" that quantitative research reveals. In the example of Sedgwick County, quantitative research would be telling of specific numerical data which shows that there was a decline and where the declines might have occurred. The quantitative gives information revealing what, how much, when, and how.

What it doesn't provide is information that qualitative research can provide, such as why did it decline, what are the specific reasons why people are leaving? Qualitative research can use interviews with open-ended questions to gain insight to the why without giving limited reasons such as in a survey with predetermined answers. The need for both are important because without the what, we either can't or don't know to ask the why. The free range of possibilities of an answer can be a strong positive characteristic in qualitative research, but one must understand quantitative research provides a foundation on which qualitative research is built upon. Both provide a strong understanding of behaviors and are valuable to research.

Barnham, C. (2015). Quantitative and qualitative research.International Journal Of Market Research, 57(6), 837-854.doi:10.2501/IJMR-2015-070
Brian Cicero

DQ 3

Over the past 16 years, only two building permits for new housing construction have been issued in Sedgwick County, Colorado. This is consistent with the depopulation (particularly of younger persons) and economic diminution that is attributed to a declining rainfall since the 1970s. These are quantitative details. It is unclear how much of the depopulation was due to perceived opportunities elsewhere, to copycat or fad behavior, and to perceived change in local economic opportunity. Why is qualitative analysis more likely to identify the leading cause of Sedgwick County's out-migration than quantitative methods? Which characteristics of qualitative research most influenced your response to this question?

One purpose of research is discovery and justification (Park & Park, 2016). The primary difference between quantitative and qualitative research is that quantitative is numbers driven by objective research that uses an impersonal voice and is completed using a deductive and structured process. Qualitative on the other hand is subjective, which is obtained by interacting with the research participants, using a personal voice and inductive process (Park & Park, 2016).

Having grown up in a small farming town in Eastern Colorado, one that has seen the population shrink to just twenty percent of what it was during my childhood, I understand the need to further explore cause. I also know that specifically when dealing with this population, that there is two types of information, what they report on paper, and the second which is the actual story. A qualitative study is critical to the success of this type of research because it will allow the researcher to have an informal conversation, which is recorded and then later coded to look for similarities and patterns. Having an open and possibly unscripted dialogue will allow the researcher to identify information through casual conversation.

Qualitative research in this regard is appropriate because it will help identify trends, themes, and opinions of why the individuals left. One recommendation is that the question creates automatic bias in that the belief is that the depopulation occurred due to copycat behavior or perceived change in local economy. While it is important for the researcher to have this as a goal and attempted direction to start in dialogue, it is also important to maintain active listening skills and look for other possible reasons for the departure of individuals.

References
Park, J., & Park, M. (2016). Qualitative verus quantitative research methods: Discovery or justification. Journal of Marketing Thought, 3(1), 1-7.