Research Roulette

And the...chosen.....approach ...........is..................

Grounded Research

For my research paper "The Phenomenon of Shame and Korean EFL Student Classroom Silence" (Formerly " The Phenomenon of Shame and its Impact on ESL Learning in Korea"), the Grounded Research approach seems to fit best. The ultimate goal of the research is develop a theory. That is to explore- mostly through literature and observation, but also with a few interviews of qualified subjects-the link of an ESL teaching challenge (classroom silence) to ingrained indigenous cultural phenomenon (Losing Face). While there is a great deal of research literature on both subjects.....there has been no explicit attempt to look at the connection. It is my intent to explore the role and/or validity of the connection.
From the explanation given of the Grounded Research approach by Cresswell, my research methods will differ in that they won't primarily rely on collecting research data from the field, but will instead come from research literature studies of the two phenomena (Losing Face, Student Science) and will use observations/ interviews with specialized "experts" who are familiar with both phenomena on experiential and professional levels, as an attempt to corroborate only.
In this regard the research methods seem to be more closely aligned with those of the Phenomenological approach. Because both these phenomena need to to be understood thoroughly to support the alleged theoretical connection. But the goal is not to explore and examine. It is to "triangulate" these two presently unconnected phenomenological lines.
It must be stated also that both Losing Face and Korean EFL Students' silence are phenomena endemic to South Korea and are therefore must be understood from an inherently Ethnographic point of view as well. But ultimately there is an " intervener"....the Foreign ESL Teacher or the demand for mandatory for English language teaching from abroad. So this again has a phenomenological flavor, both in terms of the connection between the two cultures and the "times" in which this phenomenon occurs.
Yet, again, Grounded Theory approach will win out for categorization.....because of the intended goal, even if the methods are Phenomenological and the phenomena Ethnographically
significant.