Scenario:
You have been asked to conduct a qualitative phenomenological study on millennials soldiers and how their workplace experiences may have resulted in their current leadership style. The research will revolve around the following two research questions:
RQ1: How do millennial soldiers in the United States Army describe their military workplace experiences that may have shaped their current leadership style?
RQ2: How do millennial soldiers in the United States Army make meaning of their military workplace experiences that may have shaped their current leadership style?
The research instrument that you will use is an interview process utilizing the following questions:
The Phenomenological Interview Questions
- Can you remember the first time you thought about wanting to become a soldier? Describe the incident or event that led to this thought.
- Describe all of the different duty positions (assignments) you have experienced in your military career as a soldier. Why did you select these positions?
- What are the most memorable events throughout your military workplace experiences as a soldier that may have shaped your leadership style? How did that event make you feel? What made it so memorable? What did you experience that may have shaped your leadership style?
- Can you think of another experience that may have led to the shaping of your leadership style? What made this memorable? What did you experience that may have shaped your leadership style?
- How do you define leadership?
- What have I not asked you about the shaping of your leadership style through your military workplace experiences as a soldier that you believe I should know?
Essay Instructions
Using the information stated above, answer the following questions in a two page essay format:
- Using phenomenological theory to justify your answer, why is it important in a phenomenological study to have the participant describe their workplace experiences (i.e. roles, positions, etc..) and then make meaning, or reflect, on those experiences and how it may have shaped their leadership style? TIP: Merriam & Tisdell share that focusing on the actual experience itself and its interpretation within the respondent’s everyday life and social interaction is an important part of the phenomenological process. Use similar theory to further justify.
- How do the 6 questions in the interview instrument relate to the two research questions? Provide justification (theory) on why they should be used.
Note to Writer: To provide you with further resources to assist in writing this document, here are additional resources:
Yin, R. K. (2016). Qualitative research from start to finish (2nd ed.). New York, NY:
The Guilford Press.
Merriam, S., & Tisdell, E. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. John Wiley & Sons.
Frost, N. (2011). Qualitative research methods in psychology: From core to combined approaches. New York, NY: Open University Press, McGraw Hill Education.
Churchill, G. D. (2018). Millennials’ lived work experiences during the shaping of their leadership style: A qualitative phenomenological study (Order No. 10981929). Available from Dissertations & Theses @ Grand Canyon University.
