I found it extremely helpful to be read a breakdown of the different research approaches/methods. Methodology is the foundation of research and your research is only as good as its foundation. A strong foundation will help lead to strong research, while a weak foundation can have the opposite result. The breakdown provided in the article was extremely helpful when trying to decide which methodology will work with your research.
Phenomenology: When you want to describe the experience of a phenomenon.
Discourse Analysis: When want you to understand how discourse shapes people and society.
Grounded Theory: When you want to answer a question and don’t have a hypothesis, the data drives the understanding and theory.
When I began my research proposal I was leaning towards using grounded theory. I don’t have a hypothesis, I will be using grounded theory to investigate the use of Ebonics inside a class and how a students’ academic growth is impacted. The categories will come from the data and will include teacher’s and student’s attitudes, motivation, reflections and so on.
Composition Studies: Research and Methods 