Research methodology is the method, means or ... - DSpace@UM

information-rich cases which can be studied in depth. The sampling in this study was
selected based on the different background of participants towards RPG and history
learning. This is to gain deeper understanding on participant‟s experience with different
kind of background.
3.4.2 Participants and the role of researcher
There are three things that must be followed by the researcher before conducting a
qualitative study (Lincoln & Guba, 1985):
1. The researcher must adopt the stance suggested by the characteristics of the
naturalist paradigm.
2. Second, the researcher must develop the level of skill appropriate for a human
instrument, or the vehicle through which data will be collected and interpreted.
3. Lastly, the researcher must prepare a research design that utilizes accepted
strategies for naturalistic inquiry.
In qualitative research, the researcher aims to reveal how the individual creates, modifies
and interprets the world in which he or she find himself (Cohen & Manion, 1998). further
At the same time, the researcher‟s experience becomes a part of the research outcome,
since particular researcher brings his individual experience into the research situation
(Berglund, 2006).
3.4.3 Data collection techniques
There are varieties of data collecting methods used in qualitative research. There are
seven primary ways to collect qualitative data (Berg, 2001), such as interviewing, focus
groups, ethnography, sociometry, observation, historiography, and case studies.
The most widely used data gathering techniques in qualitative research are interview and
observation (Hazzan, 2006). These can be stored in videotapes or audio forms. The
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