Stakeholder-informed research design : lessons about culture and context from Qatar / Joanna Smith, Michael Thier, Heather McClure.

• Conducting international research presents unique possibilities for peril. Without understanding local context, culture, and norms, data-collection efforts may produce little usable data. This case study reports lessons learned about the importance of involving broad stakeholder groups in the design phase of a study. To inform the design of a 3-year study to examine the experiences of Qatari and Qatar-born female students in Education City, an international hub for higher education in Doha, Qatar, our research team spent 10 days in Education City in September 2015. We met with staff and faculty from across Education City campuses and conducted two focus groups. These meetings made it apparent that cultural and other contextual considerations would render our intended designlongitudinal data collection with student surveys alongside qualitative methods such as interviews or focus groupssuboptimal for collecting data from the population of interest. Thus, during a graffiti-style focus group, we solicited feedback on four additional proposed data sources and collection methods: student digital photo journals, alumnae interviews, parent focus groups, and staff/faculty surveys. This case study illuminates processes that enabled us to refine our study design for both cultural appropriateness and increased likelihood of generating valid, authentic data. Our lessons learned highlight the need to consider research participants norms and values in research design. 

Ämnesord

Research teams  -- Qatar. (LCSH)

Research  -- Qatar. (LCSH)

Klassifikation

Q180.55.G77 (LCC)

001.4068 (DDC)

Bfa (kssb/8 (machine generated))