Qualitative Research: A Multi-Methods Approach to Projects for Doctor of Ministry Theses
Overview
Doctor of Ministry projects are a type of participatory action research that introduces an intervention in order to provide ministerial leadership for the transformation of the organization. The intent of Qualitative Research: A Multi-Methods Approach for Doctor of Ministry Projects is to provide the fundamentals of qualitative research so that significant projects and theses emerge.
Key Features
- Offers an in-depth look at the components and purpose of Doctor of Ministry projects
- Includes multiple appendixes with additional helpful resources
Contents
- Beginnings
- Good Practice
- The Big Picture
- Tools of the Trade
- Other Toolboxes
- Taking Note
- Analyze This
- So What?
Top Highlights
“At the heart of DMin programs is the intent that projects serve the church, develop ministerial practice, and be applicable to other practitioners in the field.” (Page xv)
“The problem statement is a concise description of a need within the congregational system that can be addressed by a ministry intervention and is both researchable and manageable.” (Page 16)
“Bevans’s ‘The Praxis Model’ or ‘action-reflection-action’ activity that is in process and moving forward. In that model, the DMin student functions as a resident contextual theologian who is initiating a ministry intervention within a particular context in order to address critically a discrete problem so that the community will continue its journey of becoming like Christ for the sake of the world.” (Page xix)
“The problem and purpose statements are the determining force for making methodological decisions.” (Page 50)
“The standards of a DMin degree state, ‘the program shall include the design and completion of a written doctoral-level project that addresses both the nature and the practice of ministry. The project should be of sufficient quality that it contributes to the practice of ministry as judged by professional standards and has the potential for application in other contexts of ministry.’” (Page 2)
Praise for the Print Edition
In this volume Dr. Sensing clearly and thoughtfully lays out the process for developing and writing a Doctor of Ministry project thesis. The book focuses primarily on various qualitative research methodologies describing them and giving specific examples of their use. The multi-methods approach he takes allows for both the flexibility and the rigor necessary to produce a quality thesis. Sensing is committed to projects that are grounded in solid theological foundations and implemented in local ministry contexts. This is a must read book for DMin students and advisers.
—Dave Bland, professor of homiletics, Harding University School of Theology
Tim Sensing has written a major textbook for every seminary’s Doctor of Ministry program. Appreciating the strengths and limitations of these programs, Sensing offers a guide and sourcebook for students in designing and writing their project theses. Equally important is his approach to the degree and project in which the student is a practical theologian engaging theology as a communal, formative, critical, and public activity. The church desperately needs quality doctoral work producing rigorous research that contributes to the practice of ministry. Those who share this goal have a valuable new resource.
—Lovett H. Weems Jr., distinguished professor of church leadership, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington DC
For clergy engaged in the serious and unique work of the Doctor of Ministry, Tim Sensing provides a much-needed resource to help students conceive, design and, yes, complete their DMin projects. Sensing builds for DMin students a research toolbox both wide and deep that will allow students to build projects of integrity and substance. Administrators and faculty will find the textbook particularly helpful in directing students to the possibilities, pitfalls, and applications of various qualitative methods. This is a welcome addition to the field of Doctor of Ministry education that will certainly serve to advance the discipline for benefit of both the individual minister as well as the church.
—Rev. Gary B. MacDonald, director, Advanced Ministerial Studies, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University
- Title: Qualitative Research: A Multi-Methods Approach to Projects for Doctor of Ministry Theses
- Author: Tim Sensing
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Print Publication Date: 2011
- Logos Release Date: 2016
- Pages: 300
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Doctor of ministry degree; Religion › Research; Theology › Research
- ISBNs: 9781610972765, 9781498259880, 9781630877729, 1610972767, 149825988X, 1630877727
- Resource ID: LLS:QLTTVRSRCHMTHSS
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:32:14Z