Phenomenological Approach
Williams and Bowler’s article “Autism spectrum disorder: Fractionable or coherent?” is the in this paper. The persistent link for this article is http://aut.sagepub.com/content/18/1/2.full.pdf+html while its digital object identifier (DOI) is 10.1177/1362361313513523.
There are a number of pointers in this article showing the researchers deployed phenomenological approach. First, the article opens with such a concerted effort to both investigate and describe Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In this, the researchers approach ASD from different angles. Second, this article rotates around trying to understand different researchers’ understandings, perspectives, and perceptions on ASD. For example, the authors observe that “behavioral deficits in social interaction, communication and behavioral flexibility” were seen as some of the most basic diagnostics of ASD as highlighted in a manual by the American Psychiatric Association(Williams & Bowler 2014, p. 2). The key phenomena under investigation is Autism spectrum disorder.
In terms of the data collection process, researchers in this article tended to rely heavily on secondary sources. They examined and analyzed the findings of other scholars who had the chance to directly observe the victims of ASD. Hence, the role of the researcher mainly centered on deciphering the definition of ASD from the research findings of others. Also, the researcher had to look for gaps in the existing body of literature.
The phenomenological approached deployed to the analysis of data is the emergent strategy. Under this strategy, the researcher allows analysis to follow the direction the nature of data takes in order to derive the meaning of the phenomenon under study(Fain, 2013).
The most evident scientific merit of this approach is that it helped enhance the understanding of people’s meanings of ASD. The design helped the researcher answer the research question by providing a clear nature of the subject of investigation. Given the chance, I would have taken a sample of individuals suffering from autism so as to make the investigation direct.
Ethnography and Grounded Theory
The persistent link is http://aut.sagepub.com/content/18/1/2.full.pdf+html. The DOI is 10.1177/1362361313513523.
The phenomenon under investigation in this study is ASD, and in particular whether it is fractionable or coherent.
The data collection process in this study involved engaging informants of people suffering from autism albeit indirectly. In grounded theory, the role of the researcher is to immerse himself or herself in the lives of those being studied so as to be able to develop the theory. In this study, the research immersed themselves in the lives of autistic people through investigating the findings of other scholars.
This research study deployed the grounded theory approach and there are several characteristics affirming it. First, the study seeks to develop a theory on ASD. The chief purpose of grounded theory is to develop a theory about a specific phenomenon of interest. Second, the research makes use of the coding analysis strategy. In essence, coding involves itself with exploring qualitative data and then describing the implications of the details contained therein. In this aspect, the researchers in this study categorize qualitative data from preceding scholars and then applies their implications to answer their research question.
The grounded theory utilized in this research aims at illuminating some aspects of ASD. More specifically, this design seeks to develop the theory prior to the collection and analysis of data. In other words, this design entails developing a theory about a given subject of interest by way of analyzing data already gathered. Further, the methodology involves a constant comparative analysis approach(Charmaz, 2007). That it, the researcher keeps moving in and out of data collection and analysis. The design involves multiple iterations.
The principal scientific merit of using the grounded theory design is it helps avoid making assumptions(Charmaz, 2007). Rather it offers the researcher quite a neutral view on the subject matter. The design enabled the researchers address the research question by producing a thick description that appreciates both the areas of contradiction and conflict on ASD. I would design this study differently in that I would propose that the researchers immerse themselves directly in the lives of those people with autistic conditions.
Quantitative and Qualitative Methodology
The professional problem under investigation is that the lack of adequate knowledge among autism students’ parents is the chief reason for lack of support for autism students. Either quantitative or qualitative research design could be used to study this problem. On the one hand, the qualitative approach could be used to determine the correlation coefficient between the knowledge of the parent of an autism student and the support they provide. On the other hand, quantitative approach could be used to explore what parents of autism students know about their children.
Both qualitative and quantitative research methods have strengths and limitations. Beginning with the former, its strength is that it can provide a deeper understanding on a matter. Its greatest limitation is that it faces difficulties in applying statistical methods to its findings. The latter has the benefit of allowing generalization to a broader population. The major drawback with it is that it is difficult to recognize a new and untouched phenomenon. Between the two methods, the quantitative design would address the aforementioned problem more effectively. The reason for saying so is that it produces numerical figures that can easily be converted to numbers making it overly simple to interpret the results(Taylor, 2005).
Ethics and Specialization Area
The significance of ethics in academic and scientific writing in psychology and my field of specialization is that they avoid theft of intellectual property and thus maintain integrity. Ethical treatment of research participants has the importance of ensuring that no subject of researched is coerced to participate. The importance of ethical research conduct is that research is not conducted in a way that causes emotional, psychological, physiological, or even social harm to participants(Hedge, 2015).
In my current work position, some of the greatest ethical issues I have to grapple with revolve around ethical treatment of participants. For example, in applying either phenomenological or grounded theory research designs where the researcher is supposed to conduct direct observation of the subjects, the subjects should not be knowing that they are being investigated. In so doing, research subjects are not aware they are under study, and hence have not given consent to the study.
The three categories of ethics mentioned above contribute to the validity, acceptability, and reliability of research findings. For instance, the ethics in academic and scientific writing ensure that no research papers are accepted as original and authentic.
References
Charmaz, K. (2007). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Fain, J. A. (2013). Reading, Understanding, and Applying Nursing Research. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.
Hegde, D. S. (2015). Essays on research methodology. New Delhi, IND: Springer.
Taylor, G. R. (2005). Integrating quantitative and qualitative methods in research. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
Williams, D. M., & Bowler, D. M. (2014). Autism spectrum disorder: Fractionable or coherent? Autism, 18 (1), 2-5.
