Week 7. Librarian Resources and Qualitative Data Analysis with Nvivo

One of the reasons that influenced my decision to come to Western university was the resources available for research and the investment administrators make in databases and bibliographic resources access. But, being here, I found out that the amount of resources is even higher than I thought.

I am impressed with all the features and options our library has. This week, Denise Horoky visited us and talked us about all the support we can get from our librarian system. I should highlight that we are not just talking about Western Libraries but a more complex network that extends the resources availability even further.

This is a service I will absolutely use in the future. Coming from a young, low budget university I find myself in front of one of the biggest opportunities of my career. I talked about this with my supervisor, Dr. Riveros has provided me with such a great support (both in the academic and personal transitions to a different country and culture).

I mentioned my supervisor before because, in my first week here, he told me about NVivo as a powerful tool for qualitative data analysis. It is interesting that Dr. Marianne said the same about the tool. This is something I must further explore, I would love when I come back to my country to introduce and teach how to use this software to my colleagues. Together we can improve substantially the research level in our country.

Week 6. Mixed Method Research

This week we talked about mixed methods research. I would like to start by stating that for me this is the best approach to doing research. Considering last weeks methodologies and paradigms I believe that it is impossible to drastically take sides between qualitative and quantitative research. Combining the systematicity od quantitative research with the ability of deep explorations od qualitative research will enable the researcher to acquire a holistic vision about the studied phenomena.

We also learned about a real-life application of this type of research. And for me that proves that although several author express that qualitative and quantitative approaches are mutually exclusives they can actually be reinforcing for the confidence of the study.

It is important to remember that the mix of methods can manifest at different levels and stages of the study. We can find several types of design, like parallel, convergent, multiphase, but they are all focused on providing a complete perspective of the world and its particularities.

Week 5. Indigenous Methodologies: Storytelling and Insurgent Research

Indigenous communities represent history, fight, and resistance. They struggle to obtain the recognition they deserve, the visibility of their ancestral knowledge that lasts and share the same time and space with modern society.

This type of research should focus on respect. It is a big challenge to document, analyze and disseminate their experiences, practices, and perceptions without alterations caused by the researcher's biases.

Knowledge is not only generated by social interaction, but it is also a result of the articulation of historical facts and their own particular context. Indigenous communities own particular ways of communication and interaction that must be taken into account in order to gain access to their wisdom.

I personally think that this type of research should manifest like a vocation. Researchers should carefully balance the power dynamics with the participants, making them confident of the fact that their real voices will be heard.

Week 4. Case Study, Ethnography and Action Research

In previous weeks we talked about naturalistic studies. This perspective studies the reality in the participants' natural settings, looking for characteristics, causes, and consequences of social phenomenon.

Case study, ethnography and action research are methods (and techniques) with a qualitative inclination. They consider participants as meaning-making beings who help the research construct the meaning and sense of their world. Therefore, these methods accept the existence of multiples realities.

In all these methods, the process of research acquires the same importance as the outcomes. Researchers become instruments of research through the application of techniques like observation, interviews, field notes, and memos.

Ethnographic studies are concerned about cultural knowledge, activities of groups in a particular context and description and analysis of patterns of social interaction. This study uses all of the mentioned elements to build new theories.

While there are several types of ethnography, I found particularly interesting autoethnography, because it enables the researcher to describe and analyze personal experiences in order to understand the cultural experience. On the other hand, it's also interesting how this method fights the critiques about the relevance of one person's experience for scientific purposes.

Case studies can provide detailed examinations of evolving situations or small samples. This method can focus on a person, a group or an organization and it gives us great examples of real situations occurring to real people in their natural settings.