Education research analysis

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Abstract

This paper will discuss the origin of qualitative research and the difference between basic and applied research. Besides, this paper will also discuss the difference between basic and applied research. Most importantly, it will also identify the different types of qualitative research and their differences. Finally, this paper will analyze one issue that can be best subjected more to qualitative research than quantitative research.

Introduction

Research is a study aimed at finding out a given phenomenon. In some circumstances research can also be a systematic way of finding more about what ad been previously observed. In terms of development, qualitative inquiry has its roots in anthropology and sociology. These disciplines had employed surveys that were highly inquisitive. Among the things that the early anthropology addressed included social traditional aspects of the societies in question. These surveys were carried out with a major aim of unraveling how members of a given society interpretation their environment. Some of the early discipline and fields involved were social work, law, counseling and education (Merriam 6).

In doing research, researchers can either conduct it as basic research or applied research. What motivates basic research is intellectual interest in a given phenomenon. It works towards extending the already acquired knowledge as its major aim. On the other hand, applied research normally aims at making better a discipline it intends to research so that it improves administration or policy implementation. Such research can take form of evaluation of studies.

According to Merriam (22), there are six different types of qualitative research. These include basic qualitative study, which, deals with how people interact with their experience, phenomenology that, focuses on experience and ground theory that focuses its research method on data to be used. Others include ethnography that emphasizes understanding of individual interactions, narrative analysis that makes use of stories to evaluate experiences, and critical qualitative research, which prioritizes a critique of the society.

Racialization of Education: Critical Qualitative Research of the Society

Many writers (Merriam, 2009 and Ifedi, 2008) are of the opinion that the issue of racialization of education can be said to be responsible for the under achievement of black children in the US. They also see racialization as also responsible for the under-performance of many immigrant children in the United States. These scholars seem to affirm that even in cases where research has shown that immigrants do well in the system of education, the society remains conscious of the racial differences and that children of such immigrant population still eventually become victims of racialization of education.

Without pointing an accusing finger to any particular direction, Ifedi (2008) claims that even in cases where African women endeavor to make efforts academically, the issue of underachievement cannot be talked about without indirectly alluding to them as an example. Still other scholars have observed that creating policies that do not allow non-fist generation Africans to access college education easily could be contributing factors for racialization of education. Nevertheless, the big focus should not be on the child with African touch in him/her but rather education policy in general and with regard to immigrant population in general.

Rather than quantitative research, understanding such an issue like racialization of education would require critical qualitative research. This is especially so since the matter to be researched on is one that requires a critical analysis of the various reasons and motivating factors that influence such directions those policy makers take. A better approach would be for one to consider being objective rather than subjective. If done so, then such a qualitative research would most likely yield positive results.

References

Ifedi, R. (2008). African-Born Women Faculty in the United States: Lives in Contradiction. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press.

Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative Research: A guide to design and implementation. (Revised and expanded from Qualitative research and case study applications in education). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.