Abstract
Defining a data collection method for qualitative research is not an easy task. Because of the focus on the exploratory aspect of the study, qualitative research requires a unique model for data interpretation based on unstructured or semi-structured data analysis techniques. For the study in question, it was crucial to define the existing trends in the application of social network theory to the process of public administration, with a major emphasis on the role of the African American community in it. Therefore, as a model, which allows for locating the variables and defining the relationships between them, the Action Research Model was a suitable choice for data interpretation and analysis.
Introduction: Action Research Model and Study Design
The analysis of public administration issues in contemporary American society, and the role of the African American population in it is complex research requiring a unique and comprehensive approach. It was imperative to analyze the trends in the modern U.S. society, thus, identifying the paradigm of the social evolution and understanding how the African American community factors in it.
The Action Research Model, which allowed for finding the links between the research variables (White, 2004), fits into the methodology of the study perfectly. Moreover, the model proposed creates the premises for applying the theory to practice efficiently and, thus, defines the choice of further strategies to be applied to address the problem.
Interpreting Data Collection: Locating the Right Tool
As has been stressed above, the process of data analysis in qualitative research is quite complicated due to the specifics of the information gathered. Since the emphasis is shifted from the acquisition of statistical data to the collection of qualitative information in the specified research design, it is essential to choose the approach that will help interpret the data obtained in a proper manner.
The Action Research Model allows for drawing the line between the user and the useless information in the very course of the data collection process, which is crucial for qualitative research (Greenwood, 2013). More to the point, the specified model helps interpret the information collected in a proper manner and, most importantly, helps define the patterns that will facilitate education through change (SAGE Publishing, 2013).
Interpretive Framework and Research Questions
The model chosen for the research seems quite adequate in relation to the research questions. To be more specific, it is the chance to explore the very nature of the research question, i.e., to turn the research into a meta-analysis, that makes the Action Research Model so unique (Rossouw, 2008). In the specified case, the issue of African Americans’ participation in the creation of trends in contemporary American society requires a closer look at the role of the African American community in the USA in general. More to the point, a brief analysis of the African American people’s culture must be introduced into the research, and the specified model facilitates the premises for such an analysis to be integrated into the research design.
Getting the Priorities Straight: What Comes First
Finally, the fact that the Action Research Model allows for identifying the priorities for the study is worth motioning. Unlike the rest of the methods for a qualitative study, the Action Research Model helps identify the factors affecting the variables in question and isolate these variables, therefore, defining the areas that need to be addressed. Particularly, the model displays in a very graphic manner that the changes in the role of the African American community in the U.S. society must be evaluated as the key independent variable.
Reference List
Greenwood, D. (2013). Introduction to action research. In D. Greenwood, Introduction to action research: Social research for social change (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publishing. Web.
Rossouw, D. (2008). Educators as action researchers: some key considerations. South African Journal of Education, 29(1), 1–16.
White, A. M. (2004). Levin’s action research model as a tool for theory building: A case study from South Africa. Action research, 2(2), 127–144.