Navigating The Dissertation
  • I: From Start to Proposal Defense
    • 1: Types >
      • Introduction for Types of Dissertations
      • Overview of the Dissertation
      • Self-Assessment Exercise
      • What is a Dissertation Committee
      • Different Types of Dissertations
    • 2: Overview >
      • Introduction for Overview of the Dissertation Process
      • Responsibilities: the Chair, the Team and You
      • Sorting Exercise
      • Stages of a Dissertation
      • Managing Your Time
      • Create Your Own Timeline
      • Working with a Writing Partner
      • Key Deadlines
      • Self Assessment Exercise
      • Additional Resources
    • 3: Background >
      • Purpose and Goals
      • Read and Evaluate Chapter 1 Exemplars
      • Draft an Introduction of the Study
      • Outline the Background of the Problem
      • Draft your Statement of the Problem
      • Draft your Purpose of the Study
      • Draft your Significance of the Study
      • List the Possible Limitations and Delimitations
      • Explicate the Definition of Terms
      • Outline the Organization of the Study
      • Recommended Resources and Readings
    • 4: Lit Review >
      • Purpose and Goals
      • Purpose of the Literature Review
      • What is the Literature?
      • Article Summary Table
      • Writing a Short Literature Review
      • Outline for Literature Review
      • Synthesizing the Literature Review
      • Recommended Resources and Readings
    • 5: Methods >
      • Purpose and Goals
      • Purpose of the Methodology Chapter
      • Topics to Include
      • Preparing to Write the Methodology Chapter
      • Self-Assessment Exercise
      • Confidentiality
      • Building the Components for Chapter Three
      • Recommended Resources and Readings
    • 6: Qualify Exam & IRB >
      • Preparing for Your Qualifying Exam (aka Proposal Defense)
      • What is Needed for Your Proposal Defense?
      • Submitting Your Best Draft
      • Preparing Your Abstract for IRB
      • Use of Self-Assessment
      • Preparing Your PowerPoint
      • During Your Proposal Defense
      • After Your Proposal Defense
  • II: Data Collection and Analysis
    • 1: IRB
    • 2: Data Collection >
      • Pre-observation – Issues to consider
      • During Observations
      • Wrapping Up
      • Recommended Resources and Readings (Qualitative)
      • Quantitative Data Collection
      • Recommended Resources and Readings (Quantitative)
    • 3: Data Analysis >
      • Qualitative: Before you Start
      • Qualitative: During Analysis
      • Qualitative: After Analysis
      • Qualitative: Recommended Resources and Readings
      • Quantitative: Deciding on the Right Analysis
      • Quantitative: Data Management and Cleaning
      • Quantitative: Keep Track of your Analysis
  • III: Findings, Discussion, and Final Defense
    • 1: Chapter 4 >
      • The Purpose of Chapter 4
      • The Elements of Chapter 4
      • Presenting Results (Quantitative)
      • Presenting Findings (Qualitative)
      • Chapter 4 Considerations
      • Recommended Resources and Readings
    • 2: Chapter 5 >
      • The Purpose of Chapter 5
      • Preparing Your Abstract for the Graduate School
      • Draft the Introduction for Chapter 5
      • Draft the Summary of Findings
      • Draft Implications for Practice
      • Draft your Recommendations for Research
      • Draft your Conclusions
      • Recommended Resources and Readings
    • 3: Preparing for Defense >
      • What is Needed
      • Submitting Your Best Draft
      • Use of Self-Assessment
      • Preparing Your PowerPoint
      • What Happens During the Final Defense?
      • What Happens After the Final Defense?
      • Graduation

Presenting Findings (Qualitative) 
Topic 1: Chapter 4

How do you present your findings (qualitative)? 

When crafting your findings, the first thing you want to think about is how you will organize your findings. Your findings represent the story you are going to tell in response to the research questions you have answered. Thus, you will want to organize that story in a way that makes sense to you and will make sense to your reader. You want to think about how you will present the findings so that they are compelling and responsive to the research question(s) you answered. These questions may not be the questions you set out to answer but they will definitely be the questions you answered. You may discover that the best way to organize the findings is first by research question and second by theme. There may be other formats that are better for telling your story. Once you have decided how you want to organize the findings, you will start the chapter by reminding your reader of the research questions. You will need to differentiate between is presenting raw data and using data as evidence or examples to support the findings you have identified. Here are some points to consider: 
  • Your findings should provide sufficient evidence from your data to support the conclusions you have made. Evidence takes the form of quotations from interviews and excerpts from observations and documents. 
  • Ethically you have to make sure you have confidence in your findings and account for counter-evidence (evidence that contradicts your primary finding) and not report something that does not have sufficient evidence to back it up. 
  • Your findings should be related back to your conceptual framework. 
  • Your findings should be in response to the problem presented (as defined by the research questions) and should be the “solution” or “answer” to those questions. 
  • You should focus on data that enables you to answer your research questions, not simply on offering raw data. 
  • Qualitative research presents “best examples” of raw data to demonstrate an analytic point, not simply to display data. 
  • Numbers (descriptive statistics) help your reader understand how prevalent or typical a finding is. Numbers are helpful and should not be avoided simply because this is a qualitative dissertation. 
Example Martinez-Kellar Dissertation, p. 140-144 (Individual Leader Element: Leader Creativity) 
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