Amy Gade

LDRS 810: Qualitative Research Methods

Module 10
This weeks module readings and lecturette really got me excited for the
writing process. While it feels like this process is sometime yet in the future, I will
admit Ive envisioned writing my qualitative inquiry. Although I am not sure where
my skills as a researcher lie, I am confident in my writing abilities and I actually
enjoy writing, so I am excited to be at that place in my research that I can begin
writing. One of the things that excites me most about writing a qualitative inquiry is
that this method is often considered a more storytelling style of writing. Creswell
(2013) notes that these more storytelling modes blur the lines between fiction,
journalism, and scholarly studies (p. 214). I believe that not all people read, learn,
and process in the same way. Some people, myself included, prefer this more
storytelling approach and are able to gather more from this particular style of
teaching, the qualitative inquiry is just that!
What will be most important to remember when writing my own story of this
research is to be sure to include a level of verisimilitude or a certain degree of detail
which helps the story come alive and that the reader can feel a part of that
(Creswell, 2013). I also want to be sure that I am self-disclosing about my role in the
research and writing of this study. Creswell (2013) states, No longer is it acceptable
to be the omniscient, distanced qualitative writer (p. 214). It will be important that
I am not separate myself from the roles of author, researcher, and even study
generator.
I will attempt in my writing to consider the impact it may have on the actual
participants of this research. A few particular things I hope to keep in mind as it

pertains to the participants specifically, as addressed in Creswells text, relate to

ensuring the participants arent offended or marginalized by the presentation of my
research (Creswell, 2013). In allowing my interview respondents to review and
provide corrections to their interview transcript, I already noticed how tough
members of a study can be on themselves and how they feel they are represented.
One individual I interviewed and forwarded the interview transcript to commented
back that he didnt realize how dumb he sounds until he saw it in writing. I
reassured him that he provided a wonderful interview, little does he know, his was
one of the best!
Creswell (2013) also notes that its extremely important to display reflexivity
in ones writings, which means to be conscious of the biases, values, and
experiences the writer brings to the research (p. 216). He stresses this can be done
by talking about the researchers experience with the phenomenon being studied. I
anticipate being very upfront about my tie to higher education, therefore, the added
knowledge I may have about the structure, leadership, and mission components.
Likewise, the research should discuss how these past experiences might alter the
writers interpretations surrounding this phenomenon. I hope by being extremely
forthcoming about my experience in and interactions with a mission statement of a
higher education institution, I will present myself as a very open, unbiased
researcher that can be trusted in terms of presenting such research findings.
When learning about the writing structure of the case study method of which
I will be using, I was excited, yet concerned to learn there is no set format for
reporting this such research (Creswell, 2013). Because my research is a multiple
case studies approach, in that I am looking at how individual participants link their
work to their institutions mission, it will be more of a description of the thoughts,

feelings, opinions, and perceptions of these individuals. While there is no true

format, a general outline was provided which I will hope to utilize when formatting
my final report. I plan to open with a discussion about the desire for purpose in job
motivation, next I will identify the problem in terms of how employees tie their
individual work to their institutions mission, then I will describe the case, its
complexity, issues to be probed, assertions made in my findings, and close with
implications of my study and further research direction suggestions.
Again, honestly, I am just ready to be through the data collection and
analyzation phases, as while I have enjoyed the interviews, participants, and their
perceptions, I am not as comfortable with this phase as I believe I will be with the
writing phase. I look forward to how my literature review, methodology, data
collection, and research findings will all come together for my final report. I look
forward to the next steps in learning more about the qualitative research method.