Methods Section- Divorce and Separation
Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods Used in Social Psychology Research
Qualitative Research is a research method that relies on collecting and analyzing non-numeric data with the interest of understanding experiences, concepts, and opinions. In social psychology, this research method involves using tools like interviews and observations that are believed to offer more comprehensive information and a contextualized understanding of individuals, perspectives, and personal and cultural mentalities (Frost, 2021). Their uniqueness is in that it allows the researcher to explore unique things in the lived experiences of individuals and groups and then continue to explain these unique experiences of people or groups. This method explains these phenomena through the individuals’ feelings, thoughts, and actions.
Subsequently, quantitative Research is the opposite of qualitative Research. Power et al. (2018) state that quantitative analysis involves objectively collecting and analyzing numeric data to predict, control, and describe selected variables. Quantitative Research is used to examine causal relationships between variables. The study is also used mainly to make predictions and generalize the outcomes to a larger population. Hence, unlike qualitative Research, Quantitative Research is more interested in collecting data.
The Most Suitable Research Methodology to be Used in Social Psychology Research
A social psychologist is interested in learning people’s feelings, behaviors, and thoughts and how they are influenced by others or by the environment. As such, a social psychologist will always be interested in collecting detailed data on people’s thoughts and feelings (Crawford & Novak, 2018). This understanding reveals that the qualitative research method for social psychology research is the best. In this case, the researcher needs to take a lot of time to gather data, which makes this method slightly hectic. At the end of the Research, however, the researcher will be able to collect enough data to reveal what a population feels about an issue and further show their experiences and opinions regarding the phenomenon. What is most important to point out is that sometimes due to time constraints and the researcher’s main interests, the researcher might be interested in examining the trends of a phenomenon (Frost, 2021). In such a case, the quantitative research method can use numbers to learn about the trends and patterns of a phenomenon.
The methodology used in the Research
The research method selected for this study will be quantitative Research since the main interest of the researcher in this study is to examine the trends of impacts that divorce and separation have on adolescents’ emotional and mental well-being (Crawford & Novak, 2018). Therefore, in this case, quantitative data will work for the study. The participants in this study will be adolescents aged between 12 and 16 years. The researcher selected this age as the best age for adolescents, and the researcher targeted those teenagers who can express their experiences and feelings to get more information. For one to qualify to be a participant, they must have had an experience of separation or divorce from their parents. Therefore those who did not live with their parents due to death did not qualify to participate in this study. To get the ideal cases, the researcher will rely on records from the psychiatric and counseling centers within the locality. The researcher targets at least 100 participants to get enough data for generalization. Once their details and information are formed, the participants and their parents will be informed of the Research and asked for their consent to participate (Frost, 2021). Those agreeing to participate in the study will be issued questionnaires, which they will fill out and return to the researcher after four days. The questionnaires will be sent through mail or delivered by hand. The method of sending will depend on the participant’s convenience.
References
Crawford, L. A. & Novak, K.B. (2018) Research Methods in Sociological Social Psychology: Individual and Society. Routledge.
Frost, N. (2021). Qualitative Research Methods in Psychology: Combining Core Approaches 2e. United Kingdom: McGraw-Hill Education.
Power, S. A., Velez, G., Qadafi, A., & Tennant, J. (2018). The SAGE Model of Social Psychological Research. Perspectives on psychological science: a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 13(3), 359–372. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617734863
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Instructions
Methods Section
Final Project: Methods Section
This week, you will create the Methodology section of your research proposal. In this section, you will review the research methodologies (both qualitative and quantitative) used in social psychology research. To gain a better understanding of the methods used review the methodology sections of the articles you found for your literature review.
Methods Section- Divorce and Separation
Include in your work:
Define qualitative and quantitative research methods used in social psychology research.
Explain which of the two research methodologies is a better choice to be used in social psychology research and why.
A detailed description of the methodology used in your research, including, but not limited to, participants (a description of the participants you will recruit and detail about how you will recruit them), procedure (how you will go about collecting your data), and materials or resources required (questionnaires, surveys, interview questions, etc.)