Research Methods Identity Statement

I believe that some aspects of research require and objective viewpoint, however in many areas, most of which intrigue me the most as a researcher, subjectivity is essential to fully understanding the research and being able to interpret and apply it. When it comes to research I find it more interesting to research things guided by intent of social justice and change, and with that I feel like you also need to have a good sense of understanding. I feel that my research style follows a constructivist approach using qualitative methods because I value understanding people and their unique experiences that have had effects on different aspects of their lives. This appeals to me because I have always found it important to see multiple viewpoints and have had an understanding that everyone's story is different. This influences the design of my studies, because I want everyone to feel comfortable sharing their experiences and emphasize that I am there to learn and not judge. I like to research these experience through qualitative methods, specifically interviews and ethnographic observation studies. These methods align with my strengths as a researcher because it allows me to connect to each participant in a subjective way, looking at their experiences through their eyes, and gain a better understanding of their experiences, values, and opinions.

 

My academic background with research consists of a lot of academic journals that hardly make any sense, and pulling out information from there to use as research in essays. For a while, this was my definition of research and I did not find it interesting or beneficial to my understanding of the topics I was researching. This caused my research designs to be extremely structural and scientific, creating a very objective level of research on all things. Throughout my social sciences research course, and more importantly this course, I gained a wider knowledge of methods of research that can allow me to research in a way that better reflects my interests and values. Research has become more of an exciting project I get to do rather than some busy work I have been assigned. Studying qualitative methods in this course really resonated with me as a researcher and allowed me to explore research through a new and more subjective lens, including allowing me to go out in the research field and conduct my own qualitative interviews.

Conducting Scholarly Research

COMM308 Annotated Bibliography.pdf

My annotated bibliography attached here displays my ability to conduct scholarly research by searching through academic databases and finding journals pertaining to my research question/topic. I then am able to look into these articles and identify the methods used and findings of this research and apply this knowledge to my own research.

Quantitative Research

COMM308 Survey Questions.pdf

COMM308 Quant Write Up.pdf

Over the semester I have learned to design well thought out research experiments to analyze quantitative data. This includes coming up with varying levels of quantitative research questions including, descriptive, comparative, and relationship questions. Furthermore, using these research questions to develop a series of survey questions that will help gather data to answer these questions. And lastly, running various tests such as as t-test, chi square tests, etc... to analyze the data and draw conclusions to answer the research questions.

Qualitative Research

COMM308 Interview Guide.pdf

COMM 308 Qual Write Up.pdf

The skill set I have gained over the semester includes, qualitative methods that have allowed me to research in a more subjective way. This includes, creating qualitative research questions, and correlating interview questions to help gain knowledge of peoples experiences. Additionally, creating a thoroughly designed interview guide to follow when conducting interviews, going out into the field and actually conducting the interviews, and then applying the experiences and opinions gathered into drawing conclusions relating back to the original research questions.

Sharing Research With Non-Scholarly Audience

COMM308 Infographic.pdf

I have put into practice the ability to create a layout that highlight key methods and findings from my research into a graphiclly appealing design. This allows non-scholarly audiences to look at my research in a simple and easy to understand way that will appeal and intrigue them.