Current Research Question

The 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?”

Interviewing as the Data Collection Method of Choice

The method that I plan to use in collecting data for my proposed study is interviewing. There are several reasons why I prefer interviewing over other data collection methods. One reason is that my research aims at exploring the participants’ experiences regarding the phenomenon of interest. People’s experiences are obtained through conversing with them or asking them to write down those experiences. Interviewing is preferable to the collection of experiences as it will allow me the opportunity to create a good rapport with participants and ask follow-up questions all of which will help me obtain good quality data. Another reason why I have opted for interviewing method of data collection is that I will apply the basic qualitative inquiry approach when researching the phenomenon of interest and interviewing is recommended as the best method for collecting data when utilizing the approach (Patton, 2014).

A focus group method of data collection involves getting a few participants in one location to discuss an issue in depth (Kamberelis & Dimitriadis, 2013). One reason why I do not prefer to use a focus group is that I will collect data from 25 participants while the ideal number of participants in a focus group ranges between five to eight participants (Kamberelis & Dimitriadis, 2013). Another reason is that focus group would not allow deeper probing of the experiences of each participant which is crucial for the study. Observational data collection method cannot extract data regarding participants’ inner experiences.

Kinds of Questions that I will ask Participants

I will ask the participants personal and non-personal questions. One personal question that I will ask them is whether they are in the country legally or illegally. Such a question is risky for participants to answer and may be embarrassing to some participants. Confessing that one is in the country illegally might result in their arrest and deportation if such information reaches the law enforcement institutions. Some examples of impersonal questions that I will ask participants are whether they have encountered racial nativists in the country and what they think about their protection from such groups.

Ethical Considerations

A critical ethical consideration that I will have to make given the nature of some questions that I will ask participants is the issue of privacy and confidentiality. For participants to answer the personal, risky, and/or embarrassing questions I have to guarantee them that their identities will be kept private and confidential. I will not disclose their identities in the final research report or any other occasion. I will use pseudonyms to refer to their responses. I will sign an agreement with the participant which will guarantee them privacy and confidentiality among other things.

References

Kamberelis, G., & Dimitriadis, G. (2013). Focus groups. London: Routledge.

Patton, M.Q. (2014). Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods: Integrating Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications