| Course | DBA-8100 Qualitative Research Methods and Applications |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | Methods paper: research design and paradigm |
| Length | About 1,013 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Doctor of Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for DBA 8100 Module 1
Promoted and Gone: Designing a Qualitative Study of First-Year Supervisor Exits
Student Name
Doctor of Business Administration, Thomas Edison State University
DBA-8100: Qualitative Research Methods and Applications
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Promoted and Gone: Designing a Qualitative Study of First-Year Supervisor Exits
The Practice Problem
The firm promotes most of its first-line warehouse supervisors from within, choosing high-performing pickers, loaders and forklift operators. Over the past three years, 41 percent of newly promoted supervisors left the role within twelve months, either returning to hourly work or leaving the company. Each departure costs the firm in recruiting, training and lost productivity, and teams that lose a supervisor show higher error and injury rates for months afterward. Exit interview forms offer little insight: most departing supervisors check boxes for pay or schedule. As the human resources director and a DBA candidate, I want to understand the experience behind those boxes in order to change how the firm prepares and supports new supervisors.
Why a Qualitative Study
The firm already has quantitative data on who leaves and when. What it lacks is an understanding of how new supervisors experience the transition from peer to boss, how they make sense of conflicting demands and what leads them to decide to stay or go. These are questions about meaning, process and context, which qualitative research is designed to explore. A survey could measure satisfaction but could not reveal the sequence of events or the reasoning behind a decision to step down.
The Research Question
The study asks: How do newly promoted warehouse supervisors describe their first year in the role, and what experiences shape their decisions to stay or leave? Two sub-questions guide the interviews: How do supervisors describe the shift in relationships with former peers? What forms of support do they describe as helpful or missing?
The question is open, focused on participants' accounts and bounded to one role in one organization, which makes it answerable within a capstone timeline.
Paradigm
Lincoln and Guba (1985) contrasted the positivist paradigm, which holds that one reality exists and can be measured from outside, with a naturalistic paradigm, which assumes that realities are multiple and constructed, that the knower and the known interact and that findings are bound to context. Under the naturalistic paradigm, the researcher studies phenomena in their natural settings, uses the human researcher as the main instrument and allows the design to emerge as understanding grows.
This study adopts a constructivist, naturalistic stance. Supervisors' experiences of their first year are not a fixed set of facts to be measured but meanings they construct from interactions with crews, managers and family. My own role as an HR leader in the firm means that I will co-construct these meanings in interviews, which must be acknowledged rather than ignored.
Choosing an Approach
Creswell and Poth (2018) compared five qualitative approaches. Narrative research tells the stories of one or a few individuals. Phenomenology looks for what is essential in an experience many participants share. Grounded theory develops a theory of a process grounded in data from many participants. Ethnography describes the shared patterns of a culture group through extended immersion. Case study examines a bounded system, such as a program or organization, using multiple sources of data. They advised choosing an approach based on the research question, the intended product and the researcher's resources.
| Approach | Intended product | Fit for this study |
|---|---|---|
| Narrative | Stories of a few individuals | Too narrow for a firm-wide pattern |
| Phenomenology | Essence of a shared lived experience | Possible, but focus is on decisions, not essence |
| Grounded theory | Theory of a process | Strong fit, but full theory building exceeds a capstone |
| Ethnography | Patterns of a culture group | Requires immersion beyond the timeline |
| Case study | Analysis of a bounded system | Possible; firm as the case |
A Generic Qualitative Design
Many applied and practice-oriented studies use a generic or basic qualitative design, which seeks to understand how people interpret their experiences without committing to the full philosophical and procedural requirements of one of the five traditions. For a scholar-practitioner capstone aimed at improving practice in one organization, this design fits well. It allows semi-structured interviews with supervisors and analysis of themes across their accounts, producing findings the firm can act on.
Inductive Rigor
Gioia et al. (2013) proposed a method for bringing rigor to inductive research without forcing it into a hypothesis-testing mold. They treat participants as knowledgeable agents who can explain their own thoughts and actions, and they build a data structure in three levels: first-order concepts in participants' own terms, second-order themes in the researcher's theoretical terms and aggregate dimensions that combine themes. The data structure shows readers how the researcher moved from raw data to concepts. Although this study will use reflexive thematic analysis, described in module four, it will borrow Gioia's practice of displaying the path from quotations to themes, which makes the analysis transparent.
Alignment
The design aligns its parts. The practice problem calls for understanding a process from participants' view. The research question asks how supervisors describe their experience. The naturalistic paradigm treats those descriptions as constructed meanings. The generic qualitative design and semi-structured interviews collect them. Thematic analysis, with a transparent data structure, organizes them into findings the firm can use.
Scholar-Practitioner Purpose
The capstone's purpose is practical: to inform a redesigned onboarding and support program for new supervisors. Findings will be shared with operations leaders in a report, and the study's limits will be stated so that leaders do not overgeneralize.
What the Firm Expects
Operations leaders have agreed to receive the findings and to consider changes to the supervisor promotion process. Their interest is practical, but they have accepted that a qualitative study will explain experiences rather than produce a single cause, and that its recommendations will need testing.
Limits
A generic design offers less theoretical depth than grounded theory. Findings will be bound to one firm and role. My insider position brings access and understanding but also risks, which module five addresses.
Conclusion
A practice problem with a quantitative symptom, high first-year turnover, calls for qualitative understanding of its causes. Lincoln and Guba's naturalistic paradigm, Creswell and Poth's comparison of approaches and Gioia and colleagues' practice of transparent inductive analysis together support a generic qualitative design built around a focused research question.
References
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Gioia, D. A., Corley, K. G., & Hamilton, A. L. (2013). Seeking qualitative rigor in inductive research: Notes on the Gioia methodology. Organizational Research Methods, 16(1), 15-31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428112452151
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. SAGE Publications.
What the DBA 8100 Module 1 instructions ask for
TESU's catalog paragraph for DBA-8100 stresses theoretical understanding and methodological application for capstone projects, and since TESU does not post a syllabus, module one is set as a research design paper. A paper like this states a practice problem with evidence, explains why a qualitative approach suits it, writes a focused research question, positions the study in a paradigm, compares approaches and justifies a design and shows how all parts align. In some sections the task is to contrast two traditions without proposing a study. Check whether your mentor wants sub-questions and whether a generic qualitative design is acceptable in your program. Mention what the organization expects from the study, since capstones serve practice as well as scholarship. Keep the alignment paragraph short and explicit.
Inside the DBA 8100 Module 1 example
An invented DBA candidate who directs human resources at a central New Jersey logistics firm opens with 41 percent first-year turnover among newly promoted warehouse supervisors. Why the problem needs qualitative study, a research question with two sub-questions, Lincoln and Guba's naturalistic paradigm and Creswell and Poth's five approaches, compared in a table, follow. A generic qualitative design, Gioia and colleagues' transparent data structure, alignment of all parts, the capstone's practical purpose, limits and a conclusion complete the paper. Ahead of the limits, a short note records what operations leaders expect from the findings; margin notes mark each alignment step. The paper never treats the firm's turnover figure as a finding.
DBA 8100 Module 1 rubric: what earns full marks
Design papers earn credit for a practice problem stated with evidence, a clear reason for qualitative research, a focused and answerable research question, a paradigm explained in terms of its assumptions, approaches compared against the question, a justified design and explicit alignment among problem, question, paradigm, design and analysis. Explaining why each rejected tradition did not fit is persuasive. Acknowledging insider status early shows reflexivity. Methods books should be cited with edition and publisher. Stating what the organization expects and accepting that qualitative findings explain rather than prove shows a realistic scholar-practitioner stance. Keeping the design modest enough to finish within a capstone shows judgment.
DBA 8100 Module 1 help: mistakes that cost marks
Design papers often name a method without explaining why it fits; compare options against your question. Another common gap is a research question that asks for numbers. Start from the practice problem. Write an open how or what question. Name your paradigm and its assumptions. Justify your approach. Show alignment in a paragraph. Your topic and module prompt are all we need to write a free first draft. State what leaders will receive. Explain why the study explains rather than proves. Keep the question open and focused, and show your paradigm in one clear paragraph. Name the tradition you rejected and why.
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DBA 8100 Module 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free DBA 8100 Module 1 sample paper?
The qualitative research design paper about first-year supervisor exits at an invented logistics firm is on this page.
What are Creswell and Poth's five qualitative approaches?
Narrative, phenomenological, grounded theory, ethnographic and case study research.
What is a generic qualitative design?
A practical design that explores how people interpret experiences without following the full requirements of one of the five traditions.
What is the naturalistic paradigm?
Lincoln and Guba's view that realities are constructed and context-bound and that researcher and participants interact.
What is a Gioia data structure?
A display linking first-order concepts in participants' words to second-order themes and aggregate dimensions.