Justification for Quantitative or Qualitative Methodology

Justification for Quantitative or Qualitative Methodology
Name
Institution
Due Date
Justification for Quantitative or Qualitative Methodology
Statement of the Potential Dissertation Topic
My dissertation topic is “When Compared with Neighboring Counties, Does Charles County Curriculum Align with Common Core State Standards?” This topic is crucial, especially in the current conversation about whether students are being prepared to handle life after school. The twenty-first-century economy has come up with extra demands of the kind of professionals it needs. The introduction of the CCSS was aimed at helping ensure that the education focuses more on the aspect of critical thinking and analysis and less on the rote memorization that has been the case in the past. Furthermore, as Haskins et al. (2012) indicate, it sought to bridge the gap in literacy skills between an average student and the international standards while also reducing the gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged students. So, the alignment with the standards introduced by CCSS was believed to bring about lasting change that will prepare students for their future. The topic is quite timely and helps to understand further how Charles County has aligned its curriculum with the CCSS. Further, there is the question of whether the alignment has been effective or has led to any benefits for the students.
Why the Quantitative Methodology?
The quantitative methodology is apt for this dissertation because of its distinctive ability to make generalizations possible. According to Daniel (2016), the interaction or study made on a group can “be generalized.” He continues to indicate that “the study of problem-solving instruction in secondary school science education within one particular area or zone can be reflective of the wider society in terms of samples, contents, and patterns.” For this particular study that focuses on the alignment of Charles County curriculum with the CCSS, it will indeed be possible to generalize the results. So, the study and collection of data should not be done in all the schools in Charles County but on a handful of the schools. The results of the data collected should then be generalized to paint a clearer picture of whether the county’s curriculum aligns with CCSS.
The quantitative research method also emphasizes or focuses on figures and numbers. The quantitative methodology employs statistical tools and techniques to answer questions like how, what, when, how much, and where (Apuke, 2017). The computation of data saves on the amount of time that will be used to derive meaning or to find proper descriptions. As Daniel (2016) notes, the percentages, numbers, and data collected can be stored in a computer and passed through a statistical tool for computation. For this research, using the quantitative research methodology will help make the process of computation much easier as well as deriving meaning from the numbers.
Furthermore, with quantitative research methodology, it is quite easy to replicate. CCSS alignment has been a widely debated topic. Also, there have been questions over its effectiveness or the effectiveness of the curriculums currently being used in churning out or pr...