The Issue Of Insider Outsider

An outsider is defined as “a person who does not belong to a particular group.” In the book, The Outsiders, many of the characters can be described as being an outcast from the social society. Ponyboy, Johnny, and Cherry are outsiders in this novel because none of them really fit into the groups that they’re “supposed” to be in.

No matter where one goes on this dismal chunk of rock, one will probably encounter an outsider. In high school lunchrooms there is always at least one poor, sad teenager who has the unlucky seat next to the trash can. In parks and school playgrounds there is always that one melancholy kid that provides a stark contrast from the joyful shouts and screams coming from the other playing children. The experience of being an outsider is an inescapable universal condition that can be caused through social class, appearance, or other factors.

Are outsiders simply those who are misjudged or misunderstood? Whether outsiders are misjudged or misunderstood depends on whose perspective you view this question from. When you look at someone you are developing an opinion of them, and you may be misjudging them by deciding they are an outsider. While when you are the person being judged you feel that you are just simply misunderstood. You may have experienced one or probably both of these perspectives. Moreover to truly understand what it means to be an outsider you need to understand both of these perspectives.

Power point slide Qualitative research is a difficult term to define…. Nevertheless, it is important to be familiar with some definitions in the field. The definition provided by Creswell 2009 is enlightening because it incorporates ……….. most important part of definition for me were reports detailed views of informants and natural setting.

An outsider is someone who stands out from the crowd. They have their own beliefs, their own way or thinking. Standing out is often thought of in a negative way, but it can bring along many positive things. During the time period of Martin Luther King Jr., there were many protestors who began to stand up for themselves and their race. Even though many people did it, there were only a few people who started the movement, and those people, were outsiders. Two people who were outsiders from that time period were Jackie Robinson and Rosa Parks. They stood against normal beliefs and tried to change the way of life, which is what many outsiders do. An outsider is not simply someone who is misjudged or misunderstood.

‘Employing a qualitative methodology, underpinned by a constructivist world view, has provided the means to generate rich, deep and contextualised understandings of the research issue, and an appreciation of the socially constructed and experienced realities of the participants.’ (Highfield 2012)

When people hear the word “outsider” it typically doesn’t reflect positivity and joy. Usually it is used to point out how different the other party is from the social norm or standard already set. There are numerous ways a person can be pegged as an outsider, either by the way they dress, their thoughts and their actions. These thoughts and actions can have negative outcomes in terms of social acceptance because of how strange these people seem or act compared to the ordinary. With this in mind Kafka’s work The Metamorphosis can be introduced. In this short story, Gregor Samsa, the main character, has undergone a change that makes him into an outcast. This metamorphosis is not by choice, but nonetheless it leads to negative reactions from those around him. Equally, the related video dealing not only with Kafka's work, but also with the idea of changing as a human being can also used to tie in the idea of being different from the crowd. In addition, my own experiences of feeling isolated and different show how being an outcast is not a foreign idea. Due to this it can be said that outsiders are simply people who are misjudged or misunderstood and to emphasize this The Metamorphosis can be used as the first source of support.

Everyone possess critical thinking skills but when it comes to criticize a journal article it can be difficult for the first time, one of the best ways to develop critical thinking and reading skills is to use some strategies when reading and evaluating a research study (Wood & Haber,1998). The following essay it is going to focus in a critique of a qualitative journal article by giving its strengths and weakness, critical appraisal it is going to be done with support from different references and frameworks relevant to a qualitative study.

Qualitative research is concerned with meanings of experiences and interactions. Qualitative research is very common in the social sciences, although it is often used in market research as well (Alasuutari, 2010; Nieswiadomy, 2011). There has been quite a rise in qualitative research in the last 30 years. It first started to emerge in journals in the 1960’s, and an increase in the number of qualitative research can be seen in research journals in the 1980’s (Alasuutari, 2010). Instead of looking at the statistical numbers within research, the researcher in interested in getting within the research, and understanding the phenomenon (Leedy, 2011; LoBionod-Wood & Haber, 2013).

Epistemological criticism argues that all approaches are unlikely to produce consistent evidence because of the inherent property. It will generate a new viewpoint. However, through abundant reading, triangulation will enlarge width and depth in qualitative research and provide an analysis with security- a overall perspective. Participants can improve the validity of research. Bloor (1978) argues that sociologists can establish a correspondence with participants, in which participants can identify, give assent and judgement to sociologists.

When people are growing up, being normal was the way to be cool. Everyone wants to be like everybody else and that’s the way it goes. What children and many adults still don’t understand is that being different and having diversity is a good thing. It is ok to be different, especially in today 's society. Being able to acknowledge that diversity and disability in everyday life and seeing the good in it will help bring together our society. For my next three paragraphs i 'm going to discuss what it was like to be an outsider, when I experienced diversity and an experience I have had with disability

Qualitative research is conducted in a natural setting and attempts to understand a human problem by developing a holistic narrative and reporting detailed views of informants about the culture of a problem. It forms a report with pictures and words. One of the most important distinctions that sets qualitative research apart from more traditional types of research is that qualitative research is holistic in that researchers study phenomena in their entirety rather than narrowing the focus to specific defined variables” (p. 93). Similarly, Cresswell (1984) indicated that qualitative research “is defined as an inquiry process of understanding a social or human problem, based on building a holistic picture, formed with words, reporting detailed views of informants, and conducted in a natural setting” (p. 2). Cresswell’s definition clearly delineates the major characteristics of qualitative research. Pg. 50 (Smith & Davis, 2010).

There’s more negativity than positives from outsiders on the Joneses letting DeMarco Murray walk, but sometimes using an addition by subtraction approach can make up for one big loss.

The ability for an outsider to accurately discern about the underlying cultural values of an organization by analyzing symbols, ceremonies, dress, or other observables aspects is more difficult than for an insider with several years of work experience (Lukasova, 2004). The difference in understanding the underlying cultural value between an outsider and an insider will vary from organization to organization and how often an employee interacts with an outsider.

As a novice qualitative researcher, I have and will continue to acknowledge the value my own situated experiences and knowledge. This ultimately relates to reflexivity, which is a “focus on how does who I am, who I have been, who I think I am, and how I feel affect data collection and analysis – that is, an acceptance and acknowledgment that how knowledge is acquired, organized, and interpreted is relevant to what the claims are” (Pillow, 2003, p. 176). Considering this allows me to be accountable for my thoughts and my social and political stance while going through the process of research.