Current Version of Research Question

My most current version of my research question is “How would you as a Latina/o immigrant describe your experience concerning the protection that you receive from racial nativists operating in the United States?” Racial nativists who not only oppose immigration but also discriminate immigrants based on their races at times insult and assault of immigrants (Young, 2017). The phenomenon of interest is the protection of immigrants by the government and the society from racial nativists, and I plan to investigate the phenomenon by gathering the experiences of Latina/o immigrant.

Criteria for Inclusion and Exclusion

            The sampling method that I will utilize in the study is the purposeful sampling method. Purposeful sampling involves seeking or selecting participants based on pre-set criteria (Palinkas et al., 2015). One criterion for inclusion in the study is that one must be a Latina/o immigrant. A second criterion is that the Latina/o immigrant must be living in the US. Thirdly, the participant must be living in areas where racial nativists are known to operate. Fourthly, the participant should have some experience with the protection that is availed to immigrants to protect them from attacks by violent nativists. People who are not Latina/o immigrant, those living outside the US, and those with no experience of racial nativism and protection will be excluded from the study.

Sample Choices

My choice of sample size for the study is 25 participants. Qualitative studies usually involve sample sizes compared to quantitative ones (Robinson, 2014). One reason for smaller sample sizes is that in qualitative data a lot of data is collected from each participant through interviews and interviewing many participants would result in very many pages of the transcript which would be hard to analyze (Robinson, 2014). A sample of 25 participants will provide the data needed to answer the research question. Interviewing 25 participants will also not be a massive strain for me as a researcher.

Saturation in qualitative research refers to the point in a study where the addition of more participants or data will not add new information or perspective (Robinson, 2014). Data saturation refers to the point in data analysis where no new insights are generated from collected data. Researchers usually cease collecting and analyzing more data once they perceive that the saturation point has been reached (Robinson, 2014). I will analyze data as I gather it from participants and when I realize that no new perspectives are arising from data collection and analysis, I will consider ceasing to proceed in the same. Theoretical saturation refers to the point where the sampling and analysis of new data do not generate new perspectives that would affect an emergent theory. Since my study is not aimed at theory development, theoretical saturation will not apply.

Participants’ Assurance

Privacy is a crucial concern for my study. Participants will likely provide sensitive information. I will work towards ensuring that the identities of all participants are kept private to protect them from any blowback that may result from the study. I will assure them that privacy is a significant concern and inform them about the measures that I will take to protect their privacy. The assurances regarding confidentiality will be included in the invitation to participate in the study. The inclusion of such assurances will likely help in attracting participants as they will not be worried about their safety.

References

Palinkas, L. A., Horwitz, S. M., Green, C. A., Wisdom, J. P., Duan, N., & Hoagwood, K. (2015). Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 42(5), 533-544.

Robinson, O. C. (2014). Sampling in interview-based qualitative research: A theoretical and practical guide. Qualitative research in psychology, 11(1), 25-41.

Young, J. G. (2017). Making America 1920 again? Nativism and US immigration, past and present. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 5(1), 217-235.