Yonghwan's Questions

1. Qualitative research and quantitative research seem different in whether it is a value-free framework. While qualitative researchers emphasize the value-laden nature of inquiry, the other side of research, which is a quantitative research, is purported to be within a value-free framework (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998, p, 8). The authors argue that “the age of value-free inquiry for the human disciplines is over, and researchers now struggle to develop situational and transsituational ethics that apply to any given research act” (p. 24). What do you think about this argument?

2. Even though qualitative research has generally criticized positivist tradition, which is more closely related theory driven or theory building research, it seems that qualitative research also has been conducted based on its own theoretical frameworks and in order to develop theory or theoretical paradigms. One may argue that qualitative research is (also) restricted to theory or generalization. What do you think about this argument?

3. Continued to critical theory, what’s the role of critical theory? Is it tool for interpretation of the world? Then how these critical theories are developed and built (especially in comparison with theories of quantitative research)?

4. Regardless of the argument whether qualitative research is rigor in terms of research methodology, every research including qualitative research needs to be done with rigorous methods and procedures. What are the characteristics of rigorous methods in qualitative research? In quantitative research, for instance, systematic sampling, normal distribution (vs. skew) and appropriate statistical analysis are said to be necessary for rigorous methods. Then what about qualitative research?

5. The qualitative perspective has contributed mass communication research by focusing on their emphasis on processes and meanings with pursuing their epistemology. For instance, studies on news production and audience reception by participation observation can be examples of this. I think qualitative research has played an important role in mass communication era because of its inherent nature, which is hierarchical relationship between content producer (i.e., mass media) and audience, in discovering these power relations in a society. Then will this qualitative research or critical theory continue to contribute to this (non-mass) new communication? If yes, how?