For this assignment, you will build on your assignment from last week and further explore how you might examine your research problem using a qualitative methodology.
Walmart's Policy on Women's Pay
"In Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2531 (2011), the Supreme Court held that a proposed class of over a million women that had alleged pay and promotion discrimination against the nation's largest retailer could not be certified" (Seiner, 2014). According to the Court of law, the applicants had unsuccessfully proven a common thread in the case satisfactory to link their statements.
For this research a problem will be annotated, and the purpose of the research effort will be stated. We will identify and discuss a design that is associated with qualitative methodology that we would consider to answer the research questions and based on the analysis, and explain if we feel the use of a qualitative methodology and the chosen design is best suited to address the research problem and answer our questions.
"Since President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, there should be equal pay for equal work women in all American organizations" (Gunderson, 2013). "There should also be equal pay for women who do the same work as men at Wal-Mart" (Eisenberg, 2012). "However, women are being paid less than their male counterparts at Wal-Mart" (Green, T. (2014). It deprives them of remuneration that is rightfully theirs. "There is evidence that Wal-Mart is still disallowing women from some jobs and is denying women equal pay for equal work" (Seiner, 2014).
The purpose of the study is to find out if there is equal pay for women at Wal-Mart. The study will identify positions in which women do the same jobs as men but get less than their male counterparts. The study will consider the full range of payments and benefits, including basic pay, non-salary payments, bonuses, and allowances. The legal position is that with Equal Pay Act and Title VII an employer cannot deny women equal pay for equal work, deny women transfers, promotions, or wage increases, manipulate job evaluations to relegate women's pay or intentionally segregate men and women into jobs according to their gender.
The research question that would be appropriate for a qualitative study are (1) Are women paid the same basic pay as their male counterparts for the same jobs at Wal-Mart? (2) Are women paid the same non-salary payments, bonuses, and allowances as their male counterparts for the same jobs at Wal-Mart? (3) Are women given the same benefits as their male counterparts for the same jobs at Wal-Mart? These three research questions are aligned with the purpose statement and address the research problem.
Respond to the following questions:
• How might fieldwork and observation be used to answer your research questions? What role would field notes play in this process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using observation?
• How might interviewing be used to answer your research questions? Would you use face-to-face interviews or electronic interviews? Why or why not? Would you interview participants individually or in a group? Why or why not? What are the advantages and disadvantages to using interviews to collect your data?
• Discuss ethical issues to consider with these qualitative data collection methods.
• It is also important to consider how you might code the potential data you collect. Krathwohl (2009) lists 14 steps to consider in coding and analysis. Reflect how each step would apply/be used in the hypothetical research scenario you have been considering.
Be sure to use scholarly sources to support all assertions and research decisions. Ensure it is supported by at least 3 to 5 scholarly resources within the past 5 years to ensure relevancy. Also keep in mind that your problem statement should reflect a PhD degree.
Length: 5 to 7 pages
Using current APA standards.