Learning the Concept of Researcher as Instrument in Qualitative Research

Authors

Mengxuan Annie Xu, University of New Brunswick
Gail Blair Storr, University of New BrunswickFollow

Abstract

The authors describe the process whereby a student with a background in economics was guided to understand the central role in qualitative research of the researcher as instrument. The instructor designed a three-part mock research project designed to provide experiential knowledge of the enterprise of qualitative research. Students, as neophyte qualitative researchers, were guided to develop a sophisticated understanding of the necessity for congruence between the ontological and epistemological philosophical underpinnings of the research question, data collection techniques, and analysis. An example of the trail of analytic decisions one student made during analysis is included to show the complexity of qualitative analysis and interpretation.

Keywords

Researcher as Instrument, Qualitative Analysis, Qualitative Research

Publication Date

5-21-2012

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2012.1768

Recommended APA Citation

Xu, M. A., & Storr, G. B. (2012). Learning the Concept of Researcher as Instrument in Qualitative Research. The Qualitative Report, 17(21), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2012.1768