Discussion: Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

Philosophical Differences Between Qualitative and Quantitative Paradigms and Approaches

Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read Chapter 1 in the Frost e-book, Qualitative Research Methods in Psychology, and the required journal articles for this week. Also review last week's PSY635 Week Two Discussion Scenario (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. In that scenario, the three instructors realized there are limits to the insights they can gain through anonymous counting of discussion posts. The instructors would like to answer two additional research questions:

(a) How do their students actually feel about the intervention? and

(b) How do students view the influence of the intervention on their learning inside and outside of the classroom (if applicable)?

In your initial post, compare the characteristics of appropriate research designs and recommend a qualitative research design that would facilitate answering the instructors' additional questions. Explain the philosophical paradigm underlying the recommended approach. Evaluate the required articles for this week and describe the assumptions the instructors might have to set aside as they enter into a qualitative research study. Be sure to identify any ethical issues that may apply to the research. Review the characteristics of the quantitative approach you described in the Week Two discussion. Explain the ways in which the quantitative approach and paradigm differs from the qualitative approach and paradigm you have recommended here.

Guided Response: Review several of your colleagues' posts and respond to at least two of your peers by 11:59 p.m. on Day 7 of the week. You are encouraged to post your required replies earlier in the week to promote more meaningful interactive discourse in this discussion.

Respond to at least one peer who recommended a different qualitative design or paradigm than you did. Describe how your chosen paradigm might or might not be compatible with your colleague's proposed research design. Evaluate your colleague's identified ethical issues and suggest any addition concerns his or her design and/or paradigm might generate. Consider the explanation of differences between the quantitative and qualitative research approaches your colleague has provided. Suggest any differences between the two approaches which were not included in your colleague's initial post. How might these differences affect the interpretation of the findings of the research?