RSCH FPX 7868 Assessment 1 Developing a Research Question for Qualitative Studies

Research Topic

Literacy is also significant in determining the future of the individual because of the direct connection to employment opportunities. In America, around 130 million adults were illiterate (Nietzel, 2020). The study topic will be the following: Investigating the black adult perceptions about low literacy: A qualitative study. A qualitative study aims to give information regarding individual experiences of low literate black adults.

In particular, the black adults are faced with obstacles on the way to the necessary education (Willis, 2022). In addition, the paper discusses the obstacles that are involved in the accessibility of education and the measures to enhance the literacy level. Qualitative approach is suitable since methodology enables the discussion of subjective stance, social background and emotional influence with regard to the issue of low literacy.

• Concepts and Target Population

The main ideas of the research are low literacy, the obstacles to accessing education, and the causes of the literacy gaps. Literacy barriers like educational disparities and socioeconomic issues that leave adults no access to the education (Zickafoose et al., 2024). In addition, the research narrowly aims at examining the influence of social, economic and other institutional conditions on literacy experiences. Addressing the varied factors assists in comprehending how the various factors cause the black adults in the United States to have low levels of literacy (Willis, 2022).

The interrelationship between the core concepts demonstrated the effect of the barriers on the literacy experiences of the black people (Mimirinis et al., 2023). Therefore, the ideas guide in determining the direct effects of the various socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds on the literacy rate of the black people. The study will include black adults above the age of 18 years living in the United States.

• Topic Background

Literacy is a basic skill that enables one to interact with society and serves as a means of sustaining economic and personal welfare. However, the United States is also a developed nation with significant literacy problems. The U.S has between 130 million adults with low literacy levels, that is, those adults are not able to read, write, or comprehend simple text (Nietzel, 2020).

The problem is disproportionately present in the low-income population and racial and ethnic minorities. The lack of literacy is also apparent among the black people, thus expanding the potential of long-term social inequalities (Nietzel, 2020). Moreover, the black adults have a low literacy level, which does not allow the acquisition of a stable job, which ultimately influences economic stability.

In this way, the issue not only concerns the individuals but also leads to enormous social and economic losses, which results in a drop in workforce productivity (Rochmes, 2024). Complexity of the issue of adult literacy and its interaction with social, economic, and psychological issues, qualitative research would be the most suitable to learn the experience of black Americans with low literacy in the United States (Lim, 2024).

• Topic Rationale

Low literacy levels of black adults in the United States are a complex issue with extensive implications on its players, families, and entire societies (Willis, 2022). The black are illiterate, which makes access to work opportunity, affecting the economic stability (Rochmes, 2024). The qualitative approach is useful in exploring the views of the black adults on the factors and barriers of lower literacy (Nietzel, 2020).

The qualitative research is a suitable option in the study because the study will describe the personal experiences, beliefs, and attitudes surrounding low literacy, which are very personal. Qualitative method would enable the researcher to offer a subtle depiction of the way black people maneuver amid the obstacles linked to low literacy through either interviews or focus groups (Lim, 2024). The strategy can offer abundant contextual insight into the obstacles and aid in the execution of successful plans to enhance the literacy level of black people.

A Research Question for Each of the Five Methodological Approaches

• Ethnography: How do the black adults think about the literacy gaps?
• Case Study: What is the impact of the beliefs and assumptions of the black adults on their academic life now?
• Phenomenology: How are the experiences of the black adults living with the socioeconomic barriers to access literacy?
• Grounded Theory: Which literature theory assists in knowing the notion of the literacy gap?
• Generic Qualitative Inquiry: What are the causative factors that do not allow adults to pursue higher education?

How Each Methodological Approach Aligns With a Research Question?

The ethnography methodology assists in exploring the views of a particular group (Gertner et al., 2021). The research question will be the following: What are the perceptions of the black adults toward the literacy gaps? In this way, the ethnography study is aimed at examining the views of the black people toward the literacy gaps (Pahl and Rasool, 2021). The strategy assists in determining the influence of cultural beliefs, traditions, and social norms on the impact on literacy (Pahl and Rasool, 2021). The research question fits well with the ethnography since it describes a common cultural understanding of the gap in literacy in the black adult community.

The case study method is concerned with evaluating the specific knowledge about a phenomenon, on a personal level (Priya, 2021). The question in the form of a case-study approach is the following: how do the beliefs and assumptions of the black adults influence their academic life? Therefore, the strategy offers in-depth debates on the actual role of beliefs on academic performance (Priya, 2021). The research question could be classified under the category of case study since it aims at understanding how beliefs and assumptions bring about diversity in academic performance where an in depth understanding is needed in a specified group.

The central principle in phenomenology research is to compare the lived experiences of people (Bouzioti, 2023). The phenomenology research question is the following: What are the lived experiences of the black adults facing the socioeconomic barriers to access literacy? Therefore, the question applied to a phenomenon and is related to measuring the aspects of socioeconomic barriers to literacy (Stolz, 2020). Thus, the research question shapes the phenomenology and gives profound experiences of black adults who suffer socioeconomic disadvantages in literacy.

The approach of grounded theory is based on the current theoretical concepts to determine the patterns in data (Stough and Lee, 2021). The developed research question, which is based on the grounded theory approach, is stated later: What educational theory assists in comprehending the concept of literacy gap? In this way, the approach helps to comprehend the reasons that cause the gaps in literacy and how effective mechanisms might be employed to address the gap with the help of the educational theories (Stough and Lee, 2021). This research question complies with the assumption of grounded theory and is based on the development of an educational theory to describe literacy gaps.

The general qualitative approach is a qualitative study methodology in which one examines the subjective ideas and assumptions that are not reinforced by the theoretical models (Wint et al., 2021). The generic strategy is based on the descriptive data, which can be used to make informed decisions (Wint et al., 2021).

The proposed study using a generic qualitative inquiry will be proposed as follows: What are the causative factors that do not allow adults to seek higher education? In this way, the participant gives the reasons, obstacles, and experiences of the participant to higher education (Wint et al., 2021). The research question is related to generic qualitative inquiry and explains the facts of different dimensions of potential causes leading to the decrease of literacy, but does not define the application of a specific theoretical framework.

Conclusion

The research problem is concerned with the views of black adults about low literacy. The key ideas consist of reasons that cause a lack of literacy and obstacles to attaining an education. Poor literacy levels among the black adults in the United States is a complex issue which has wide spread effects on the individuals. The five approaches of qualitative study are formulated into a research question. In addition, the correlation of the question to the methods assists in probing the views of black people in various ways.

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