Data Collection Methodology
The qualitative research design selected earlier for the given project will focus on obtaining in-depth and detailed information regarding the subject of the study. In particular, the topic of ulcerative colitis and the expected recommendations will be provided based on the literature review and interviews. The literature review will be targeted at 14 scholarly articles identified in previous papers. It seems important to involve some other articles published within the last five years to ensure the credibility and relevance of the information to be collected. The articles will be searched in scholarly databases such as ProQuest, NCBI, and PubMed. The search will include the following keywords: “ulcerative colitis”, “vedolizumab”, and “clinical response”.
The length of time for data collection is three weeks. Taking into account time constraints, the research will be partially conducted online, focusing on credible peer-reviewed journals, official websites, and other related sources. More to the point, information to be collected will cover data on several years, so that a researcher will be able to identify any positive or negative tendencies and provide appropriate conclusions. Primary data collection is expected to allow considering the key concepts and theories relevant to the selected topic of the study based on the recent works in this field, as stated by Onwuegbuzie, Leech, and Collins (2012). It will also indicate the relation of the proposed research to preceding studies in this area, revealing their strengths and weaknesses, and outlining the prospective niches for further research. The literature review as a method of data collection will promote the substantiation of arguments and their proper interpretation.
The instrument of in-depth interviews will be used to examine doctors’ attitudes regarding the given health issue. The interview is appropriate for researches who target personal views. It is easy to apply, flexible, and does not demand special preparation. It should be emphasized that flexibility is one of the advantages of the interview because there is an opportunity to adjust questions in case of necessity or ask for clarification of some statements. The interview questions will be developed on the basis of the literary review, and they will cover all aspects of the problem. According to the statement by Maxwell (2013), the validity and reliability of the research tool depend on the study conditions. The interviews will be anonymous, and information from participants will not be disseminated to third parties. Thus, the respondents are expected to be honest in their responses, which will contribute to the validity and reliability of the research. Every participant will be provided with detailed instructions concerning the purpose of the interview and will be asked to sign the informed consent on the use of their data in the research. During the data collection process, interviews will be recorded on digital resources to be transcribed and analyzed during the data analysis stage.
To achieve data saturation, it is expected to collect enough information that will have the potential to replicate data. The opportunity and the ability to collect new data will also serve as a sign of data saturation. As stated by Walker (2012), the mentioned concept refers to the depth of information along with an adequate sample size. In this case, the sample size perfectly suits the research goal and capacity. Considering time constraints and the conditions of the proposed study, it seems that the methods of data collection and analysis as well as sample size are selected appropriately. In order to ensure data quality in terms of the proposed research, such methods as data profiling and data cleansing will be utilized. The former refers to the uniqueness, consistency, and correctness of data, thus allowing evaluating the quality of the initial data and assisting in identifying possible problems related to data quality (Green & Thorogood, 2014). Data cleansing is associated with eliminating unclear points and information that is difficult to interpret and code. At the same time, data cleansing ensures the corrections of dates, abbreviations, and any other potentially inaccurate issues.
Analysis
The obtained data will be grouped and compared. Such a classification will make it possible to penetrate into the essence of the topic under consideration in the shortest and the most appropriate way. With the aim of analyzing and presenting the collected data and well-designed description of the results, qualitative data analysis will be applied. In particular, the inductive content analysis will be applied in order to interpret information obtained from the respondents and come up with adequate conclusions. As a method of scientific knowledge, induction is the formulation of logical reasoning based on the generalization of observation or interview data (Green & Thorogood, 2014). Since this method is aimed at the analysis of qualitative information, the received verbal and written information will be integrated to have it in a more compact form. Encoding will act as the key compression technique, while coding will involve the selection of semantic segments of the text and the subsequent categorization and reorganization. The analyzed data will be displayed in diagrams and tables accompanied by the detailed description and discussion. As a consequence, the visual representation of information as well as coding will be the key methods of qualitative analysis in the proposed research.
According to Lewis (2015), the mentioned approach to data analysis facilitates the search and helps to establish previously unnoticed connections and patterns. Conducted throughout the process of studying the data, interpretation, and analysis will contribute to relevant, evidence-based, and accurate conclusions. Taken together, the above points will promote the focal goal of the proposed research that is to either verify or reject the hypothesis and specify prospective implications. In addition, the similarity in the practical results of the observed articles and answers of respondents along with their correspondence to the theoretical assumptions as well as inconsistencies will be revealed. Among the expected outcomes, one may note the focused analysis of the topic that would enlighten the current tendencies and challenges.
The focus group method (or, a focused interview) will be used to analyze data in the course of a group discussion, during which the participants’ attitudes to the given health issue will be clarified. In particular, the researcher will focus the discussion on how respondents perceive the issue of vedolizumab and ulcerative colitis and the projects for its solution, assess its characteristics and impact. Since the focus group represents the qualitative design and, therefore, is a sufficiently flexible method of analyzing health care information, it ensures proper research flow and does not require a serious time-consuming application. As for the historical documents, their use seems to be unnecessary for the proposed research.
Speaking of participant observation, one may claim that this data collection method refers to the situation when the researcher enters into the observed group. The paramount advantage of this approach is that the researcher is as close as possible to what is happening (Creswell, 2014). Entry into the observed group gives the researcher direct experience, which the outside observer cannot gain. The analysis of participant observation is to be built on the coding process described earlier in this section.
Explaining the desired outcomes of the proposed study, it is significant to focus on grounded theory. According to the above theory, all theoretical explanations, categories of the hypothesis, and research questions about data should be taken as preliminary. They always need to be checked, compared to actual data, and never accepted as a fact to follow the research procedures (Wolfswinkel, Furtmueller, & Wilderom, 2013). Therefore, data collection and analytical procedures in this proposal are designed to give accuracy to the study. At the same time, they help to break through prejudices and direct the researcher to check at least some of the assumptions; otherwise, they can affect such a reading of data that does not correspond to reality. Based on the strategy of the grounded theory, the further focus was placed on the phenomenon to be studied in conditions of limited time and the development of an appropriate conclusion as well as recommendations.
Thus, the strategy of the grounded theory is not merely one of the ways to systematize the description of qualitative data, but a comprehensive research approach that integrates several principles, each of which is important for the proposed study. In particular, the requirements for all phases of the empirical study, including sampling, data collection, analysis methods, and interpretation features and guidelines for assessing the quality of the results obtained are especially valuable prospects used to create this proposal. Despite the difficulties of mastering and applying the grounded theory strategy, as a result of its use, an extremely important point of view of theoretical validation is achieved. Namely, the core advantage is that it answers primarily empirical reality, rather than stereotypes of the researcher or a priori theoretical concepts.
Conclusion
Drawing from the evidence presented in this paper, one may state that the use of vedolizumab in inducing and maintaining clinical response in patients with ulcerative colitis leaves many questions and needs to be explored in an in-depth manner. This proposal enlightened the key prospects of data collection methodology and analysis, thus clarifying the ways and strategies to be utilized by the researcher. It was proposed to apply the qualitative research design focusing on the literature review and interviews with doctors. The importance and relevance of the above decision were explained in terms of relevance. In order to achieve the desired outcome, the proposal includes the methodology part that determines in detail such critical elements of the research as respondents, research design, methods of analysis, and so on. All in all, the paper involves the comprehensible preliminary research methodology and analysis proposal.
From writing this assignment, it was important to learn about the existing research designs and methods that can be used to conduct a scholarly study. The assignment was also helpful in understanding the suitable tools and strategies to ensure data quality. It became clear how the proposed study will be conducted and how to achieve its appropriateness.
References
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Green, J., & Thorogood, N. (2014). Qualitative methods for health research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Lewis, S. (2015). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Health Promotion Practice, 16(4), 473-475.
Maxwell, J. A. (2013). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Leech, N. L., & Collins, K. M. (2012). Qualitative analysis techniques for the review of the literature. The Qualitative Report, 17(28), 1-28.
Walker, J. L. (2012). Research column. The use of saturation in qualitative research. Canadian Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 22(2), 37-41.