ABSTRACT
This study uses a qualitative research design. The selection of such a design is based on the assumption that this approach conforms more closely with the main purpose of this study, that is, to obtain a detailed account of the various facets of a NWC counsellor trainee’s experience. Thus, the central thrust of the present research project is to explore, describe and seek to better understand the NWC counsellor trainees’ life career development in a cross-cultural context. A qualitative research frame is relevant to this particular study given that qualitative approaches are more concerned with understanding the process by which people make meaning of their lives (Bernard, 1994; Camic, Rhodes, & Yardley, 2003; Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995; Wolcott, 1985). As a major type of qualitative methodology, ethnographic fieldwork will be utilized in the study. The research design will follow a case study frame in general, and a narrative exploration in particular (Cochran, 1990; Collin & Young, 1992; Young & Friesen, 1994). As a major form of qualitative research, ethnography “has been concerned with producing descriptions and explanations of particular phenomena, or with developing theories rather than with testing existing hypotheses” (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995, p. 25). Thus, ethnographic research includes a range of qualitative research methods such as participant observation and phenomenological interview in studying human experiences and actions (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995). A distinctive value of this type of research is that it opens the avenue for a deep and broad self-exploration. The journey of self-exploration allows and requires the integration of an individual’s subjective experience which is essential to explain what, why, and how related elements have interacted with one another, and formed such an experience. Subjective experience is critical here because it provides personal contexts in which the experience has occurred and is perceived. When stories are told within their particular contexts, they become meaningful to both narrators and listeners. This should lead to a more thorough explanation of the experience being examined, and possibly a deeper understanding of the experience. Ethnography cares greatly, and focuses intensively on the individual’s subjective accounts as the primary source of information for investigation. It should be acknowledged that my inclination to select an ethnographic research framework is based on my epistemological view about what my present study is designed to accomplish. I believe strongly that whatever methodologies are adopted, the key principle should be that there is a congruence between the design and the core
purpose of the research project. The essence of this study, in my view, rests on the basic foundation of knowing what has happened in one’s life, and making some sense out of these events. In other words, I am interested in learning how another human being experiences life and career, and how he/she thinks and feels about that experience. My intention is not to “study” other human beings, but rather, to engage in the ethnographic research process so that I am in a position to learn from others. From the same perspective, I see the participants/informants in my project as my research partners or co-researchers rather than “subjects” to be studied. Truly knowing another person’s experience is a challenging task. There is little doubt that unless the researcher endeavours to get as close to that knowing as possible, this mission of learning about the other person’s feelings and thinking may be fruitless. Therefore, the research design should create the most pertinent conditions for this unique learning objective to be achieved. The use of an ethnographic research frame is intended to better facilitate the task of knowing, and to make the learning process a rich, illuminating, and constructive experience for both the participants and the researcher. That ethnographic field work appears to be particularly appropriate for this study is reflected by the nature of ethnography. According to Spradley (1979), ethnography is a type of research that is concerned with “the meaning of actions and events to the people we seek to understand” (p.5). Although there are several methods, such as participant observation and the phenomenological interview, representing a field work typology, the central research goal in ethnography remains the same. That is, to use these field work instruments coherently with research participants in different settings to describe and interpret the meaning from the narrative data. In short, meaning exploration and meaning making are the distinct characteristics and primary functions that ethnography holds in shaping research. Since my central goal for the present study is to delineate and understand meanings that are rendered from NWC counsellor trainees’ life career stories, it became apparent to me that utilizing ethnographic field work approach is germane to the study.
