| Course | RES 724 Qualitative Methods and Design (RES/724) |
|---|---|
| Week | 5 |
| Paper type | Doctoral qualitative observation and document analysis plan |
| Length | about 1,158 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | DBA |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for RES 724 Week 5
Beyond the Interview: Observation and Documents in a Study of Family Business Successors
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
RES/724: Qualitative Methods and Design
Week 5 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The learner, the firms, the successors, the observation and the planned study are composites written for a model paper.
Week 4 developed the interview guide for the composite Des Moines banker's study of successors leading Iowa family manufacturers. Interviews capture how successors make sense of their experience, but they are accounts given in a conference room. Observation can show the setting and relationships successors describe, and documents can show how the family and firm present the succession. This paper plans how both will be used.
Why Add Sources in IPA?
IPA rests mainly on interviews, since its aim is participants' sense-making. Additional sources are not used to check whether successors are telling the truth, which would contradict IPA's stance. They serve three purposes here: to give the banker a richer understanding of each successor's setting, so she can interpret accounts with context; to supply prompts for the second interview; and to help describe the sample for readers judging transferability.
Observer Roles
Spradley (1980) described a range of participation in observation, from nonparticipation, observing without involvement, through passive, moderate and active participation, to complete participation, in which the researcher is fully part of the setting. In a plant walk-through, the banker cannot be invisible, but she will not take part in work. A moderate participation role fits: present and talking with the successor, observing interactions, without joining activities.
The Practice Observation
With the successor's permission, the banker joined a 90-minute walk-through of a metal fabrication firm in Nebraska, led by the founder's son, who does not meet the study's criteria. Midway through, the founder joined unannounced.
Emerson et al. (2011) advise writing field notes as soon as possible after observation, with concrete, detailed description of actions, talk and setting, and keeping the researcher's reflections and early interpretations clearly marked or separate. The banker jotted brief notes during the visit and wrote full notes that evening.
A Descriptive Field Note
"10:42. Welding bay. Son (S) is explaining the new fixture to me. Founder (F) enters from the side door, nods to me, walks to the welder at station 3 and asks, 'How's that order for Hastings going?' Welder answers F, not S, for about two minutes. S stops talking and waits by the fixture. When F leaves, S says to me, 'He still does that,' and laughs. S then resumes explaining the fixture, but speaks faster."
A Reflective Note
"I felt uncomfortable when the founder arrived, as if I had been caught with the son. I assumed the son was annoyed, but I do not know that; the laugh could mean several things. The welder turned to the founder without hesitation. I want to ask successors in interviews about moments when employees go around them, but I must not assume it hurts."
A two-minute exchange in a welding bay said more about divided authority than an hour of interview could, and the reflective note keeps the banker from assuming what it meant.
What the Practice Taught
The practice observation produced three lessons. First, the banker's jotted notes during the visit were sparse because she was also talking with the son; she will now pause briefly after each area of the plant to jot key words. Second, she noticed she had written "the founder interrupted" in her jottings, an interpretation; the full note replaced it with what happened. Third, the most revealing moment was unplanned, which argues for observing ordinary activity rather than a staged tour. She will ask successors to walk her through a normal morning instead of a showcase visit.
What to Look For
Without turning observation into a checklist, the banker drafted sensitizing prompts drawn from the research questions: where people go with questions, whose name is used when decisions are mentioned, how the founder and successor occupy space and how long-serving employees address the successor. These prompts direct attention without dictating what she will record, and anything unexpected will be noted in full.
Observation in the Study
With each successor's consent, the banker will request one plant walk-through between the two interviews. She will observe the physical setting, such as where the successor's and founder's offices are located, and interactions during the walk. Field notes will follow the practice format. She will not record audio during walk-throughs, since employees have not consented to research.
Documents
Bowen (2009) described document analysis as a systematic procedure for reviewing and evaluating documents, noting its efficiency and stability but warning of insufficient detail, low retrievability and biased selectivity, and recommended evaluating documents for authenticity, credibility, representativeness and meaning. The banker will ask each successor for documents they are willing to share:
Company histories and anniversary books, which show how the family narrates the business.
Succession announcements to employees and customers, which show how the transfer was presented.
Organization charts before and after succession.
Written succession plans or family charters, if they exist and the family consents.
Appraising Documents
Each document will be logged with its author, date, audience and purpose. An anniversary book written by the founder for customers is a celebratory public document, not a neutral history; its value lies in how the founder chose to present the business and the successor's place in it. A family charter may describe intentions that differ from practice, which is itself useful when a successor's account diverges from it.
Limits of Each Source
Observation captures a single morning, which may be unusual, and the banker's presence changes what happens; employees may behave more formally with a visitor. Documents reflect what their authors chose to record for particular audiences and may be incomplete, out of date or unavailable. Neither shows how successors feel, which only they can say. These limits are another reason the study treats observation and documents as context for interviews rather than as evidence that could override a successor's account.
Ethics of Observation and Documents
Employees and founders who appear in observations have not consented to the study. The banker will record only what is necessary, describe them in general roles and not quote them. Founders will be informed of walk-throughs by the successor. Documents will be shared only with the successor's consent, and family documents only if relevant family members agree. Identifying details in documents will be removed before analysis.
How Sources Come Together
After each successor's second interview, the banker will write a short case profile combining interview themes, field notes and documents. Analysis in Week 6 will remain centered on interview transcripts, with the profile providing context. Where a document or observation suggests a question, such as the location of the founder's office, the banker will raise it in the second interview and let the successor interpret it.
Conclusion
Observation in a moderate participation role and analysis of company and succession documents will give the banker context, prompts and descriptive detail, while IPA's focus on successors' sense-making stays central. A practice observation showed both the value of field notes and the need to separate description from reflection. Week 6 turns to coding and analysis.
References
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27-40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027
Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (2011). Writing ethnographic fieldnotes (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.
Spradley, J. P. (1980). Participant observation. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
What the RES 724 Week 5 instructions ask
In Week 5, RES 724 has doctoral learners plan the use of observation and documents. Prompts usually ask learners to describe observer roles from complete observer to participant, plan what to observe and how to record field notes, conduct a short practice observation, identify relevant documents and evaluate their authenticity, purpose and limits, and explain how these sources will be combined with interviews. Some versions ask for a field note sample or a document log. Apply the methods to the learner's own study and tradition, support choices with methods literature in APA and explain clearly what observation and documents add that interviews cannot, along with the ethical issues they raise.
How this RES 724 Week 5 example is built
Our sample paper begins with the learner's practice observation: a 90-minute walk-through of a Nebraska manufacturer with its successor, during which the founder joined unannounced. Using guidance on writing field notes, it shows a descriptive note about who spoke to whom on the floor and a separate reflective note on the banker's reactions. Drawing on a classic text on participant observation, it chooses a moderate participation role. It then plans document analysis following a widely cited guide: company histories, succession plans and anniversary materials, appraised for purpose and audience. Because IPA centers on participants' sense-making, the observations and documents will provide context and interview prompts rather than separate findings, and the paper explains how that choice fits the tradition.
RES 724 Week 5 grading rubric: where the points go
Doctoral graders reward plans that use observation and documents purposefully. Strong papers choose an observer role with reasons, describe what will be observed and how field notes will separate description from interpretation and select documents with attention to authenticity, purpose and audience. Credit goes to a practice observation with a field note sample, to a clear account of how sources fit the tradition and to ethical care around consent and third parties. Graders also value honesty about what each source cannot show and a plan for logging documents so others can follow the trail. Methods texts cited in APA support the paper.
RES 724 Week 5 help: mistakes to avoid
Observation papers often record impressions instead of description, writing "the founder dominated the meeting" rather than what was said and done. Describe first, interpret separately. Another frequent gap is picking whatever documents are easy to get instead of those that speak to the questions. Learners also treat documents as neutral records of fact; ask who wrote them, for whom and why. Some papers add observation without explaining how it fits the tradition, especially in interview-based approaches such as IPA. Finally, observation often involves people who did not consent, such as employees; plan how to protect them. Write full notes the same day, before memory fades. A tutor can help you practice writing field notes.
Related RES 724 sample papers
Other RES 724 week samples
- RES 724 Week 1: Qualitative Traditions
- RES 724 Week 2: Qualitative Research Questions
- RES 724 Week 3: Sampling and Access
- RES 724 Week 4: Interviewing
- RES 724 Week 6: Coding and Analysis
- RES 724 Week 7: Trustworthiness
- RES 724 Week 8: Qualitative Design
More DBA sample papers
- ORG 727 Week 5: Types of Interventions
- RES 709 Week 5: Quantitative Designs
- RES 710 Week 5: t Tests
- RES 720 Week 5: Logistic Regression
RES 724 Week 5 questions, answered
What does RES 724 Week 5 usually cover?
It usually covers observation and documents in qualitative research: observer roles, field notes, selecting and appraising documents and combining sources with interviews.
Where can I find a free RES 724 Week 5 sample paper?
The RES 724 Week 5 plan for observation and documents in a family business study sits above, free to read.
What are field notes?
Written records of what a researcher observes, usually separating detailed description from the researcher's reflections and interpretations.
What observer roles can a qualitative researcher take?
Roles range from complete observer, who does not take part, through moderate and active participation, to complete participant.
How do you evaluate documents in qualitative research?
By asking who produced them, for what purpose and audience, how authentic and complete they are and what they leave out.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official University of Phoenix document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
Request this one custom, free · All RES 724 week samples · All courses